Winning your league without a strong defence? No chance.
The season is over, and across the next few weeks here at StatrDraft HQ we’re going to take a look at the top players from last FPL season, starting this week with defenders. No, not the obvious four or five that outscore everyone. This deep dive will look at the players that scored enough to land themselves a top ten position in our customised points system, which uses significantly more stats and datapoints than the market leader, our cousins over at Fantasy Premier League.
Simply put, points are broken next door, with defensive play, midfield control, and frankly everything other than attacking involvement being woefully undervalued. That’s not even getting into the ongoing dearth of clean sheets to bring value at the back. Tactically speaking, almost every team every week in FPL reverts to three at the back and hoping beyond hope that the inevitable conceding and carding doesn’t hit your players too badly. As anyone that actually watches or plays the beautiful game knows, strikers win you games but defenders win you championships. Sadly, in the current FPL state of play, crucial value – interceptions, aerial tussles won, clearances, tackles – are all going to waste, with the obsession with tv-camera-friendly attacking play rendering DMs and CDs completely worthless. That’s where StatrDraft comes in. We reward more players for more actions, giving you more choices for more tactical selection options and a greater strategic selection during the all important Draft Night.
Today, we’re going to take a look at the players that made Statr’s top 10 defenders for the year but weren’t included in the top 10 in FPL . For reference, the very very obvious picks – Van Dijk, Gvardiol, Munoz, and Milenkovic, and Alexander-Arnold – all made the top five in both. That would be enough of a selection to carry anyone through a season in FPL, however in draft, you have to remember that you’re not going to get all the players you want because once someone else swoops in and picks them up, you can’t have them (short of some nefarious backroom dealings). This is why draft needs a broader knowledge in each position – you may find yourself looking for a defender after 150 or more players have already been picked and are off the table. So join us as we spot five high scoring backs that could tip the league in your favour.
Nathan Collins (Brentford, Centre-Back)
Ireland’s best defensive asset right now finished third in the defensive table in Statr’s points system this season, a feat that is virtually impossible next door unless you’ve a Dutch passport and the Kop cheering you on. This was despite, not because of, his team’s performance. Brentford finished with the second worst goal-stopping record in the top half this season (just ahead of Brighton), and managed to concede more goals than the three clubs behind them in the final premier league table. They even let more in than United, a team so leaky their stadium lets the rain in. So where did the performance come from? A crucial metric that we use, Blocked Scoring Attack. Collins has been the last line of defence for Brentford over and over again, literally putting himself between the incoming shot and the goals like some sort of mad upright goalie. His fifty-freaking-seven BSAs put him top for this metric across all players in the Prem last season. This speaks to his courage, determination, and reflexes to be in the right spot to prevent disaster, like any world-class CB. But no clean sheets, so he doesn’t score next door. Next season holds some uncertainty as the Thomas Frank tight approach to defence appears to be migrating to North London next year, but we know Collins will still be a permanent problem for any visitors to the G-tech Community Stadium.
James Tarkowski (Everton, Centre-Back)
It’s been nearly five minutes since someone here at Statr made reference to our favourite Polish toffee, so let’s have yet another look at just how indispensable he is. Tarkowski has been a nailed-on wall of frustration for premier league strikers for years now, consistently leading his team from the back even when he isn’t banging in the rare but truly iconic goal for the Everton faithful. Yes, pool fans, I will repost this goal every chance I get. Why no appearance in the FPL top ten? Well, because Everton have been bloody woeful for years, and the sad fact is that in FPL’s points system, you don’t pick players at the back – you pick teams. Don’t believe me? There are three Forest defenders in the FPL top ten for the season. Statr on the other hand rewards the workhorse, the dressing room leadership, the on-pitch determination and consistency. Which stats does Tarkers make his mark on, if not goals or clean sheets? Well, it’s a little broader than Collins. Tarkowski is a top pick for aerials won, clearances, interceptions and tackles. Simply put, he’s good at all of the things you want your defenders to be good at. He’s in the top five on almost all defensive metrics, and is likely to stay that way as long as his legs hold out. There’s no rotation risk, little injury risk, and transfer out of the premier league is unlikely. If you’re not drafting him, you’re not paying attention.
Dan Burn (Newcastle, Centre-Back)
Number 6 in our top ten of defenders for the season sees a surprise. Regular readers will know that we consider Fabian Schar to be not just the greatest Newcastle defender, but probably the greatest player of all time. And yet the big man from Northumberland has outscored not just Schar but also most of the other backs in the league this season. Newcastle were certainly strong defensively this year, and Burn’s contribution to their 13 clean sheets (only Virgil Van Dijk had more) while he was on the pitch helped them reach European football despite pre-Christmas woes for the club. Beyond clean sheets, however, Burn didn’t really top the tables in any other metric. He performed admirably on all of them, but our instinct is that with rumours of a Pope exit, Newcastle won’t be able to protect the netting as well in the season to come. Our verdict – a good, but not great pick for the year ahead. Don’t go there until a run on defenders starts in the 4th or 5th round.
Antonee Robinson (Fulham, Wing-Back)
Attacking isn’t everything, but it’s certainly something, and Robinson has been delivering runs, key passes, assists and crosses like nobody’s business for Fulham. In fact, he’s been doing it for several years now. Unlike other explosive wing-backs, who may or may not be learning Spanish as we speak, Robinson also delivers defensively with tackles another key stat he performs brilliantly on. Part of me thought he’d be the perfect replacement for Robbo at Anfield this season, but in reality, he’s too bloody crucial to Fulham if they wish to drag their cheating, arrogant, depraved hides back to the top half of the table this season. Honestly, we think that with a proper finisher in front of him, this could be the season that catapults Robinson into all-time fantasy asset status. Seventh place in Statr, nowhere to be seen in FPL, and the trajectory may continue upwards. Must-have, grab when available.
…and the rest.
Finishing out our top 10 defenders for the year is Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen, who will be joining Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Bernabeu next season, so while it’s worth pointing out that he’s been excellent, he’s obviously not a draft option for Statr this upcoming season. As for the rest of the FPL top ten, here’s how they ranked in the system next door vs. how they ranked when all statistical considerations are taken into account.
None of the above are of questionable quality, but if you’re taking your drafting cues from FPL performance, you’re going to end up making some serious mistakes. Nobody in their right mind wants a 40th-ranked player in any position, and between Aina (strong when Forest were keeping clean sheets, weak as hell when the temperature got turned up late in the season), Cucurella (barely scraping two clearances a game and virtually no aerials won, suffering as he always has from being a defensive flop), and Saliba (can’t tackle, won’t intercept, will hoof up the pitch wildly), it’s clear that there are some major adjustments needed when picking defenders. It’s quite simple really – watch the defensive data points, because with the exception of the rare Robinson or Trent, virtually no defenders will score enough attacking points to compensate for a lack of defensive prowess.
If you’ve enjoyed this look at fantasy football the way it should be, with better scoring and more balanced play, why not join our waiting list, or better yet, if you’d like to help us deliver this game to you, the football fans and data divers, help us out with a donation to get this app into your pockets as soon as possible.
Jimi Kavanagh , June 2025
Comments are closed