You need to enter your fantasy football drafts with a good set of rankings. There’s more to successful drafting than just rankings, of course, but rankings provide a helpful baseline to help guide you throughout your draft. With that in mind, here are our fantasy DEF rankings, including a couple of highlighted teams worth further discussion.
Ranking the Top Fantasy Defenses
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1) Baltimore Ravens | Baltimore Ravens
2) San Francisco 49ers | San Francisco 49ers
3) Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Browns
4) Dallas Cowboys | Dallas Cowboys
5) New York Jets | New York Jets
6) Miami Dolphins | Miami Dolphins
7) Kansas City Chiefs | Kansas City Chiefs
8) Buffalo Bills | Buffalo Bills
9) Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh Steelers
10) Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia Eagles
11) New Orleans Saints | New Orleans Saints
12) Houston Texans | Houston Texans
13) Chicago Bears | Chicago Bears
14) Cincinnati Bengals | Cincinnati Bengals
15) Minnesota Vikings | Minnesota Vikings
16) Indianapolis Colts | Indianapolis Colts
17) Denver Broncos | Denver Broncos
18) Jacksonville Jaguars | Jacksonville Jaguars
19) New England Patriots | New England Patriots
20) Detroit Lions | Detroit Lions
21) Green Bay Packers | Green Bay Packers
22) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
23) Los Angeles Rams | Los Angeles Rams
24) Las Vegas Raiders | Las Vegas Raiders
25) Seattle Seahawks | Seattle Seahawks
26) Carolina Panthers | Carolina Panthers
27) Atlanta Falcons | Atlanta Falcons
28) New York Giants | New York Giants
29) Los Angeles Chargers | Los Angeles Chargers
30) Tennessee Titans | Tennessee Titans
31) Washington Commanders | Washington Commanders
32) Arizona Cardinals | Arizona Cardinals
Who Are the Best Defenses To Draft in Fantasy?
San Francisco 49ers
Very rarely are fantasy defenses worth starting every week. The best defense is often whoever is playing against the worst offense. If you are going to try and roster a set-it-and-forget-it defense, the San Francisco 49ers are a great choice.
Defenses generate points through sacks and turnovers. The 49ers possess one of the best offenses in the league. They score a lot of points and have weekly blowout potential.
When the 49ers force opposing offenses into negative game scripts, those teams are forced to throw more in obvious passing situations. That leads to more opportunities for sacks and turnovers.
Last season, the 49ers allowed the third-fewest points. They were third in QB hits and led the league in interceptions. You can’t go wrong with the 49ers as your fantasy defense.
New York Jets
What the New York Jets were able to accomplish defensively is mighty impressive, considering they were starting a quarterback who consistently put the defense in bad situations.
Last year’s Jets allowed the 12th-fewest points, which, again, would’ve been even better had they had a more competent offense. They were third in tackles for loss, tied for 11th in QB hits, tied for seventh in sacks, and tied for eighth in interceptions.
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With a healthy Aaron Rodgers, the Jets should experience fewer negative game scripts this season. More sustained drives will allow the defense time to breathe, leading to even better play.
It’s not ideal the Jets have to play two games against the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, but they also get two games against the New England Patriots. With a favorable early season schedule, the Jets are a great option to come out of your fantasy drafts with.
Check out PFN’s Fantasy Rankings for each position: QB | RB | WR | TE | K