In a league renowned for its attacking and fluid football, these were the CFs who stood out during the season.
| Player | Rating | Defense | Minutes Played | Team |
| Mats Seuntjens | 8.43 | Back 4 | 714 | Fortuna Sittard |
| Sébastien Haller | 8.25 | Back 4 | 2568 | Ajax |
| Amin Sarr | 7.96 | Back 5 | 688 | Heerenveen |
| Jens Odgaard | 7.67 | Back 5 | 1180 | RKC Waalwijk |
| Mats Seuntjens | 7.65 | Back 5 | 719 | Fortuna Sittard |
| Vangelis Pavlidis | 7.64 | Back 4 | 2428 | AZ Alkmaar |
| Elayis Tavsan | 7.50 | Back 5 | 687 | NEC Nijmegen |
| Ricky van Wolfswinkel | 7.39 | Back 4 | 2547 | Twente |
| Zian Flemming | 7.36 | Back 4 | 630 | Fortuna Sittard |
| Eran Zahavi | 7.28 | Back 4 | 1423 | PSV Eindhoven |
| Zian Flemming | 7.19 | Back 5 | 540 | Fortuna Sittard |
| Loïs Openda | 7.16 | Back 5 | 2200 | Vitesse |
| Kaj Sierhuis | 7.13 | Back 4 | 1270 | Heracles Almelo |
Conditions for the presented data:
– Minimum minutes played in the season: 450 minutes (equivalent to 5 full games) per type of defense played (Back 4 or Back 5);
– Relegation/Promotion play-off data excluded;
Data from FBref.