Links to other positions:
| Quarterbacks (August 13) Running Backs (August 14) Wide Receivers (coming) |
Tight Ends (August 13) Kickers (August 14) Team Defenses (coming) |
Defensive Linemen (August 13) Linebackers (August 14) Defensive Backs (coming) |
|---|
Related: See the Ultimate Strength of Schedule Overview here >>>
The advantages offered by the Ultimate Strength of Schedule (USOS) when compared to traditional SOS displays are numerous and include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Fantasy Points Driven
Fantasy football is all about scoring fantasy points, so USOS is based on fantasy points. - Removed Bias Of Schedule
Consider the following scenario: Defense A faced the 16 best offenses, while Defense B faced the 16 worst offenses. If both defenses allowed opposing quarterbacks to average 300 fantasy points last season, are they equally strong? Of course not; Defense A is far superior as they faced much better offenses. This bias in the schedule has been removed from USOS. - Positional Breakdown
If you are looking for a running back, it's much more relevant to see SOS data for running backs (rather than simply rushing data).
Explanation of USOS Tables
Below, you will see tables for each position's USOS. Here is a brief explanation of how these tables are constructed.
The "Team" Column
This is simply the NFL team.
The Values
Each value in the table is the expected number of fantasy points on average or per-game basis (depending on the column).
The "2025" Column
This is the average expected fantasy points allowed by each team's opponents for this season.
The "EZ" Column
This is the number of easy opponents each team will face this season. An easy opponent is defined as one of the eight worst defenses (seven during the bye weeks). Obviously, it is preferred to have players with as many easy games as possible.
The "TF" Column
This is the number of tough opponents each team will face this season. A tough opponent is defined as one of the eight best defenses (seven during the bye weeks). Obviously, it is preferred to have players with as few tough games as possible.
The "1st3" Column
This is the SOS for the first three weeks of the NFL season. This value can be used to determine how players should be expected to open the season. Players with low values could easily stumble out of the gate.
The "1st5" Column
This is similar to "1st3" except that it covers the first five weeks of the NFL season (note that some teams only play four games in this time frame).
The "Byes" Column
This is the SOS covering the bye weeks. This value can be used to find a complementary player during the byes as you'll need to shuffle players in and out of your starting lineup. A player with an easy schedule during this time would be nice to have.
The "15to17" Column
This is similar to "1st3" except it specifically covers Week 15 through Week 17.
The "16to18" Column
This is similar to "15to17" except it specifically covers Week 16 through Week 18.
The "W01" through "W18" Columns
These values are the expected strength of each team's opponent for that particular week (W05 is Week 5, etc). This is very useful when searching for backups for your elite starters. The key is to locate players with easy opponents when your star is on a bye.
The Coloring of the Values
The blue values indicate that the team has one of the eight (seven during the bye weeks) best values in that column. The red values indicate that the team has one of the eight (seven during the bye weeks) worst values in that column.
(Note: a green/red combo was considered, but some people are color blind between those two colors.)
In short:
- Blue shading is a team with a good schedule at that position
- Red shading is a team with a bad schedule at that position
Ultimate Strength of Schedule, Linebackers
| LBs | 2025 | EZ | TF | 1st3 | 1st5 | byes | 15to17 | 16to18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ari | 42.5 | 1 | 8 | 43.3 | 42.7 | 42.2 | 42.9 | 42.6 |
| Atl | 43.5 | 7 | 6 | 44.0 | 44.4 | 42.5 | 43.6 | 44.4 |
| Bal | 44.3 | 6 | 2 | 44.6 | 44.3 | 44.6 | 44.0 | 44.2 |
| Buf | 44.1 | 6 | 4 | 43.8 | 44.4 | 43.9 | 46.1 | 45.0 |
| Car | 43.3 | 4 | 7 | 42.6 | 43.7 | 43.6 | 43.1 | 42.4 |
| Chi | 44.8 | 7 | 0 | 45.4 | 44.9 | 44.8 | 44.4 | 43.5 |
| Cin | 44.2 | 7 | 3 | 45.3 | 44.5 | 43.7 | 45.0 | 46.0 |
| Cle | 44.0 | 4 | 2 | 43.7 | 44.6 | 44.3 | 43.0 | 43.9 |
| Dal | 44.0 | 6 | 4 | 43.6 | 43.0 | 43.9 | 45.9 | 44.3 |
| Den | 43.6 | 2 | 3 | 42.7 | 43.8 | 43.5 | 42.9 | 43.5 |
| Det | 44.3 | 6 | 3 | 42.8 | 44.0 | 44.9 | 44.8 | 44.6 |
| GB | 44.4 | 7 | 3 | 45.7 | 45.4 | 44.0 | 42.6 | 44.3 |
| Hou | 42.7 | 1 | 6 | 42.5 | 43.0 | 42.6 | 44.3 | 42.7 |
| Ind | 43.2 | 3 | 4 | 43.9 | 43.5 | 43.6 | 41.6 | 42.7 |
| Jac | 42.6 | 1 | 5 | 42.8 | 43.2 | 42.8 | 41.2 | 41.9 |
| KC | 43.5 | 2 | 2 | 44.6 | 43.8 | 42.4 | 43.5 | 43.0 |
| LAC | 43.9 | 4 | 2 | 43.3 | 43.6 | 44.0 | 44.0 | 43.4 |
| LAR | 43.0 | 4 | 6 | 44.4 | 43.3 | 43.3 | 41.8 | 42.1 |
| LV | 43.7 | 3 | 4 | 45.0 | 43.3 | 43.2 | 44.1 | 43.4 |
| Mia | 43.5 | 4 | 5 | 42.4 | 41.9 | 43.7 | 44.3 | 44.3 |
| Min | 43.7 | 3 | 4 | 42.4 | 43.8 | 44.6 | 43.9 | 43.3 |
| NE | 43.6 | 5 | 4 | 44.8 | 43.5 | 43.2 | 42.6 | 43.8 |
| NO | 42.6 | 2 | 8 | 42.8 | 42.7 | 42.4 | 41.9 | 42.0 |
| NYG | 44.6 | 6 | 1 | 44.8 | 45.0 | 43.8 | 45.4 | 45.1 |
| NYJ | 43.9 | 5 | 3 | 43.7 | 44.3 | 44.2 | 44.0 | 44.4 |
| Phi | 43.8 | 4 | 3 | 43.7 | 43.4 | 44.1 | 43.8 | 44.6 |
| Pit | 43.9 | 4 | 4 | 42.1 | 43.4 | 43.7 | 45.8 | 45.1 |
| SF | 42.7 | 4 | 8 | 43.6 | 42.9 | 42.6 | 41.7 | 40.5 |
| Sea | 43.5 | 6 | 6 | 44.7 | 44.6 | 43.2 | 41.1 | 42.2 |
| TB | 43.2 | 5 | 7 | 41.9 | 42.4 | 43.3 | 42.7 | 42.6 |
| Ten | 43.1 | 3 | 6 | 41.5 | 42.6 | 44.0 | 44.5 | 43.9 |
| Was | 43.8 | 4 | 3 | 42.9 | 42.9 | 44.1 | 44.6 | 45.9 |
| Avg | 43.6 | 4 | 4 | 43.6 | 43.6 | 43.6 | 43.6 | 43.6 |
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