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
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | K | SF
1) Baltimore Ravens
2) San Francisco 49ers
3) Cleveland Browns
4) Dallas Cowboys
5) New York Jets
6) Miami Dolphins
7) Kansas City Chiefs
8) Buffalo Bills
9) Pittsburgh Steelers
10) Philadelphia Eagles
11) New Orleans Saints
12) Houston Texans
13) Chicago Bears
14) Cincinnati Bengals
15) Minnesota Vikings
16) Indianapolis Colts
17) Denver Broncos
18) Jacksonville Jaguars
19) New England Patriots
20) Detroit Lions
21) Green Bay Packers
22) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
23) Los Angeles Rams
24) Las Vegas Raiders
25) Seattle Seahawks
26) Carolina Panthers
27) Atlanta Falcons
28) New York Giants
29) Los Angeles Chargers
30) Tennessee Titans
31) Washington Commanders
32) Arizona Cardinals
Who Are the Best Defenses To Draft in Fantasy?
Baltimore Ravens
Last season’s No. 1 defense was the Baltimore Ravens. They averaged about 10.2 fantasy points per game (depending on your scoring system). They allowed the fewest points against last season and were tied for third in interceptions and tied for second in fumble recoveries.
As if this defense wasn’t good enough, the Ravens took defensive players with two of their first three picks in the NFL Draft. One of them was an EDGE player, who should bolster a pass rush that already led the league in sacks last season.
With one of the best offenses in football, the Ravens frequently play from ahead. That forces opponents to be one-dimensional, throwing to catch up. When the other team passes, that’s when opportunities for sacks and turnovers present themselves.
The Ravens are the best defense in fantasy until further notice and well deserving of being the first one selected in fantasy drafts.
Dallas Cowboys
Not far behind the Ravens in fantasy points per game were the Dallas Cowboys at 10.1. How come I have them ranked down at fourth, though? Well, the Cowboys were pretty reliant on defensive scores, which are incredibly random and not at all sticky from year to year.
The Cowboys were fifth in points allowed, which is great. But they were 13th in sacks, eighth in interceptions, and 18th in fumble recoveries. The reason they were such a prolific fantasy defense is because of a ridiculous stretch of games where specifically DaRon Bland kept returning picks for touchdowns. He had five on the season.
With six defensive scores and a seventh via the return game, the Cowboys gained over a fantasy point per game on almost every other defense due to scores alone. That’s simply not sustainable.
This is still one of the best defenses in football, but they are susceptible to shootouts. Start the Cowboys in favorable matchups but look for alternatives when they play good offenses.