Projections last updated: Sep 10, 2023 | Defense | Fantasy | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Bye | Int | FR | Sck | TD | PtsA | FPts | Value |
1 | Dallas Cowboys | DAL | 7 | 14.1 | 12.9 | 45.7 | 2.9 | 21.2 | 132.3 | 9.8 |
2 | San Francisco 49ers | SF | 9 | 14.7 | 9.7 | 41.6 | 2.9 | 19.3 | 130.6 | 9.0 |
3 | Philadelphia Eagles | PHI | 10 | 13.1 | 9.3 | 53.2 | 2.7 | 21.0 | 130.2 | 8.8 |
4 | Baltimore Ravens | BAL | 13 | 12.4 | 10.5 | 47.0 | 2.8 | 20.7 | 126.8 | 7.1 |
5 | New England Patriots | NE | 11 | 14.5 | 9.3 | 48.8 | 2.8 | 22.5 | 123.2 | 5.3 |
6 | Buffalo Bills | BUF | 13 | 13.5 | 9.7 | 42.1 | 2.7 | 20.9 | 121.1 | 4.2 |
7 | Carolina Panthers | CAR | 7 | 14.5 | 8.6 | 43.7 | 2.7 | 21.8 | 118.9 | 3.1 |
8 | Kansas City Chiefs | KC | 10 | 12.7 | 9.4 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 21.5 | 117.8 | 2.6 |
9 | Cleveland Browns | CLE | 5 | 14.1 | 8.9 | 41.3 | 2.6 | 21.4 | 117.3 | 2.3 |
10 | New York Giants | NYG | 13 | 11.0 | 10.3 | 43.8 | 2.6 | 21.4 | 116.4 | 1.9 |
10 | Jacksonville Jaguars | JAC | 9 | 14.0 | 9.5 | 39.2 | 2.7 | 21.5 | 116.4 | 1.9 |
12 | Cincinnati Bengals | CIN | 7 | 14.0 | 9.8 | 38.2 | 2.7 | 21.5 | 116.0 | 1.7 |
13 | New York Jets | NYJ | 7 | 13.3 | 8.7 | 40.0 | 2.7 | 21.2 | 115.4 | 1.4 |
14 | New Orleans Saints | NO | 11 | 11.0 | 9.4 | 43.6 | 2.6 | 21.2 | 115.2 | 1.3 |
15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | PIT | 6 | 14.7 | 7.3 | 38.9 | 2.7 | 21.2 | 114.3 | 0.8 |
16 | Seattle Seahawks | SEA | 5 | 12.1 | 10.0 | 45.5 | 2.7 | 23.8 | 110.7 | -1.9 |
17 | Indianapolis Colts | IND | 11 | 14.2 | 8.8 | 37.6 | 2.6 | 22.9 | 107.6 | -5.0 |
18 | Detroit Lions | DET | 9 | 13.5 | 10.2 | 38.9 | 2.7 | 23.8 | 107.3 | -5.3 |
19 | Los Angeles Chargers | LAC | 5 | 12.9 | 9.2 | 36.9 | 2.8 | 22.7 | 107.1 | -5.5 |
20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | TB | 5 | 12.8 | 9.5 | 39.8 | 2.7 | 23.5 | 106.6 | -6.0 |
21 | Minnesota Vikings | MIN | 13 | 13.5 | 10.9 | 36.5 | 2.8 | 24.1 | 105.7 | -6.9 |
22 | Green Bay Packers | GB | 6 | 13.4 | 9.0 | 37.1 | 2.5 | 22.9 | 105.3 | -7.3 |
23 | Denver Broncos | DEN | 9 | 14.2 | 8.3 | 34.6 | 2.5 | 22.8 | 103.4 | -9.2 |
24 | Washington Commanders | WAS | 14 | 13.2 | 8.8 | 38.9 | 2.7 | 24.1 | 102.7 | -9.9 |
25 | Tennessee Titans | TEN | 7 | 13.2 | 7.8 | 36.6 | 2.6 | 23.5 | 100.2 | -12.4 |
26 | Miami Dolphins | MIA | 10 | 11.9 | 8.0 | 36.8 | 2.4 | 22.8 | 99.8 | -12.8 |
27 | Atlanta Falcons | ATL | 11 | 12.6 | 8.3 | 32.7 | 2.4 | 22.4 | 99.3 | -13.3 |
28 | Houston Texans | HOU | 7 | 12.4 | 7.9 | 37.6 | 2.5 | 24.6 | 94.8 | -17.8 |
29 | Los Angeles Rams | LAR | 10 | 13.6 | 8.3 | 34.6 | 2.6 | 25.1 | 93.6 | -19.0 |
30 | Arizona Cardinals | ARI | 14 | 12.5 | 8.9 | 34.3 | 2.5 | 25.5 | 90.1 | -22.5 |
31 | Chicago Bears | CHI | 13 | 13.3 | 7.3 | 32.0 | 2.3 | 24.4 | 89.4 | -23.2 |
32 | Las Vegas Raiders | LV | 13 | 10.8 | 8.2 | 34.1 | 2.2 | 24.9 | 85.7 | -26.9 |
Our Fantasy Football Defense rankings for the 2023 NFL season are based on points allowed, turnovers, sacks, and touchdowns projected.
We put out these fantasy football defense rankings, but remember: this is perhaps the toughest position to predict. Because it is harder to predict, you should be less confident in your selection in a draft, and not use early picks (or even mid-round picks) on defense.
Depending on your scoring sytem, Philadelphia was the best defense a year ago, and they were being drafted outside the top 12. Dallas or New England were the two top fantasy defenses in 2021. Dallas was not being drafted in the top 12 at the position, and New England was 9th. In 2020, Pittsburgh led the way and were being drafted 4th. The New England Patriots were the highest-scoring defense in 2019. They were being drafted 10th among defenses entering the year. The year before that? The Bears finished at No. 1. They were being drafted 11th. And the year before that, it was Jacksonville emerging as the surprise No. 1 finisher. They were not being drafted in the Top 12.
So in the last five years, only one of the defensive leaders by the end of the year was being drafted in the top 8 at the position.
The lesson here is to not go overboard trying to get the best defense. Because knowing who that is can be difficult.
The best fantasy football draft strategy at a less predictable position like defense is to wait and look for values. It almost certainly means you won’t be drafting the first few teams on the fantasy football defense rankings. But if you can wait, and look at early matchups to find teams you might want for the start of the season, you can get as many points as your opponents without investing an earlier pick.
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