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 defense rankings, including a couple of highlighted teams worth further discussion.
Ranking the Top Fantasy Defenses
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?
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers actually weren’t all that great of a fantasy defense last season. They were the best team in football, but in terms of fantasy football, they only averaged 8.3 points per game — finishing as the DEF9.
In actuality, they just got a little unlucky. The 49ers were third in the league with 122 QB hits. Yet, they only turned those into 48 sacks, eighth in the NFL.
While San Francisco led the league with 22 interceptions, they only recovered six fumbles. They also only had one defensive touchdown, whereas a little more than half of the teams scored at least two.
MORE: Try PFN’s “Who Should I Draft?” Tool
The 49ers being a mediocre fantasy defense is a good example as to why defensive scoring is so difficult to predict. They were, in fact, a great defense. Only the Chiefs and Ravens allowed fewer points scored. Yet, for better or worse, points allowed isn’t the most important factor in fantasy scoring.
This year, San Francisco once again projects to be one of the best teams in football. They’ll be favored in most games, likely creating negative game scripts for opponents, which leads to sacks and turnovers.
Do not let last year’s stats deter you from making the 49ers one of the first defenses selected in 2024 fantasy drafts.
Cleveland Browns
It’s mighty impressive that the Browns were a top-six fantasy defense last season, considering what happened to their quarterbacks. Cleveland started five different players under center — a testament to the talent on this unit.
The Browns were only 13th in points allowed, so they didn’t do their damage by shutting down opposing offenses. Instead, they recorded 18 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries, and 49 sacks while adding three defensive scores.
It certainly helped that Cleveland’s division had the offensively challenged Steelers and a Bengals team that had an injured Joe Burrow. This year, the challenges presented by both teams should be much more formidable.
Nevertheless, the Browns project to remain a top-five fantasy defense and are a fine selection as one of the first defenses off the board.