Most In-Form defenders This Season in J1 League

The most in-form defenders in J1 League, ranked on Field Insider.

Most in-form goalkeepers in J1 League Most in-form midfielders in J1 League Most in-form attackers in J1 League Best defenders in J1 League Top-scoring defenders in J1 League Most valuable defenders in J1 League

At a glance

R. Handa of Gamba Osaka is the standout for raw talent across defenders in J1 League, with a Field Insider Rating of 56.5, and T. Koga has been the form player this season, grading 69.2, and Diego leads the scoring with 5 goals.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: T. Koga has improved his Season rating most, up +45.3 on last season, while Kim Tae-Hyeon's scouting Rating has risen fastest, +3.7 over the same span. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, T. Koga of Kashiwa Reysol is the most valuable name in this group at 22.7.

Kashima · 24/25→25/26

Most improved

T. Koga+45.3SsN

Kashiwa Reysol · 24/25→25/26

50 players · ranked by best this seasonCustomise →

	Player	Team
1	T. Koga Centre-back	Kashiwa Reysol	27	69189.5%	504.6%
2	H. Taniguchi Centre-back	Tokyo Verdy	26	5779.1%	4811.6%
3	H. Araki Centre-back	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	29	5488.1%	3913.2%
4	W. Harada Full-back	Kashiwa Reysol	30	52110.4%	3312.1%
5	S. Sasaki Full-back	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	36	5124%	220.5%
6	N. Ueda Centre-back	Kashima	31	5016.8%	3416.4%
7	G. Shōji Centre-back	Machida Zelvia	33	474.5%	2515.8%
8	R. Handa Full-back	Gamba Osaka	24	4666.1%	577%
9	T. Yamakawa Centre-back	Vissel Kobe	28	4513.7%	4417%
10	M. Høibråten Centre-back	Urawa	31	4435.9%	3117.6%
11	D. Okamura Centre-back	Machida Zelvia	29	448.4%	3811.1%
12	G. Sakai Full-back	Vissel Kobe	35	439.6%	1810.7%
13	I. Drešević Full-back	Machida Zelvia	29	4317.2%	3523.2%
14	T. Shiotani Full-back	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	37	437.5%	1529%
15	B. Nduka Centre-back	Yokohama FC	30	4368%	3320.4%
16	Danilo Boza Centre-back	Urawa	28	4381.6%	4330.6%
17	R. Koike Full-back	Kashima	30	38790.7%	335.4%
18	K. Nagato Full-back	Vissel Kobe	31	38151.7%	2911.6%
19	J. Sumiyoshi Centre-back	Shimizu S-pulse	28	38331.8%	3914.4%
20	H. Ishihara Full-back	Urawa	27	3749.8%	4411.4%
21	D. Tagami Centre-back	Fagiano Okayama	33	35330.5%	215.9%
22	Matheus Thuler Centre-back	Vissel Kobe	27	3524.4%	4520%
23	K. Hayashi Defensive midfielder	Machida Zelvia	25	3536.8%	544.6%
24	S. Nakatani Centre-back	Gamba Osaka	30	3513.3%	3424.5%
25	D. Fukazawa Centre-back	Tokyo Verdy	27	34185%	3911.1%
26	Y. Maejima Full-back	Avispa Fukuoka	28	3312.2%	3617.5%
27	Y. Tatsuta Centre-back	Fagiano Okayama	28	33341.9%	381.3%
28	K. Nono Full-back	Kashima	24	3219.8%	5311.8%
29	M. Ito Centre-back	Yokohama FC	33	32200%	1813.3%
30	Y. Suzuki Centre-back	Kyoto Sanga	33	3225.2%	244%
31	S. Fukuoka Centre-back	Gamba Osaka	30	3219%	3321.7%
32	H. Sugai Full-back	Kyoto Sanga	27	32767.6%	4713.1%
33	Kim Tae-Hyeon Centre-back	Kashima	25	3178.4%	527.6%
34	A. Fukumori Full-back	Yokohama FC	33	3185.8%	1738.1%
35	K. Shimbo Full-back	Yokohama FC	23	31	51
36	K. Yamazaki Centre-back	Yokohama FC	30	3120.2%	2725.5%
37	S. Hasukawa Centre-back	Shimizu S-pulse	28	31483%	3812.8%
38	K. Anzai Full-back	Kashima	31	3125.5%	2732.6%
39	A. Sasaki Full-back	Kawasaki Frontale	26	3132.5%	508.6%
40	K. Kurokawa Full-back	Gamba Osaka	29	3019.3%	3723%
41	Y. Miyamoto Centre-back	Kyoto Sanga	26	2918.5%	50±0%
42	S. Fujiwara Full-back	Albirex Niigata	30	2936.9%	3126.6%
43	M. Tashiro Centre-back	Avispa Fukuoka	33	2937.3%	1842.2%
44	T. Shichi Centre-back	Avispa Fukuoka	32	29750%	2014.4%
45	Y. Suzuki Full-back	Shonan Bellmare	32	2926.6%	2426.9%
46	K. Sato Full-back	Kyoto Sanga	26	2917.2%	473.1%
47	T. Kamijima Centre-back	Avispa Fukuoka	29	2824.2%	3225.1%
48	S. Takagi Full-back	Shimizu S-pulse	24	27	51
49	Diego Defensive midfielder	Kashiwa Reysol	30	271.1%	2926.5%
50	T. Deng Centre-back	Yokohama F. Marinos	29	2627.5%	3123.9%