As we inch closer to the start of the football season, people worldwide are planning for their fantasy drafts. While some leagues are moving away from the team defense position, the vast majority of fantasy managers still have to pick a defense to plug into their lineups.
Choosing which defense to play can be a weekly game of its own, more on that later, but it all starts with your draft. Who you take and who you avoid could end up being the deciding factor in your Week 1 fantasy matchup.
Pro Tip
If your league rules allow it, every major platform outside of ESPN will let you skip the team defense position altogether. You should take advantage of this. Instead, load up on running backs and wide receivers.
Having extra players at these critical positions gives you injury insurance and trade bait heading into Week 1. Then, before the Sunday kickoff, drop your worst player or use that roster spot you opened up in trade and add the team defense with the best matchup.
My advice is always to stream the position. Work the waivers, play the best matchup every week, and you can build your own top-ranked weekly team defense, giving yourself an edge. However, if your league requires it, or you just feel better having one, here are the defenses to target and avoid in your draft.
Defenses to Target
- Indianapolis Colts
- Denver Broncos
- San Francisco 49ers
- Washington Commanders
If you must take a defense, these three are worth drafting in the 12th or 13th round instead of waiting until your last picks. All three are rated highly in the Footballguys consensus and what sets them apart is that they all have multiple great matchups to start the season.
The Colts are our consensus No. 7 defense, but they come in at No 1 in my rankings. The additions of Yannick Ngakoue and Stephon Gilmore should help 2020's best fantasy defense reclaim the top spot in 2022. Of course, it also helps that they open the season against Houston and Jacksonville.
The same can be said for the Broncos and 49ers. Denver starts the year with Seattle and Houston, while the 49ers play Chicago and Seattle in the opening weeks. Both of these defenses land in our consensus top-10 and have what I believe to be a soft opening schedule.
I am far higher on the Washington Commanders than most. They come in as my No.4 defense but are outside of the consensus Top 20. I get the hesitation after a down 2021 season, but they have talent at every level and a very nice opening schedule with Jacksonville and Detroit.
The Streaming Starter Pack
- Tennessee Titans
- New Orleans Saints
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Miami Dolphins
It's easy to summarize why I like these teams: Week 1 matchups. Not one of them is very high in the consensus rankings, but they all play what should be questionable offenses in Week 1. These teams are only worth a pick if: A. You must draft a defense. B. The four teams I mentioned before are already gone. And C. You are ready to stream defense this season because they don't have great Week 2 matchups.
I've mentioned streaming a few times, and if you're not familiar, here are the cliffs notes. Play the weekly matchups. You will cut your defense weekly and pick up the free-agent defense playing the worst offense. If you need help, our Sigmund Bloom releases his Rent-A-Defense article weekly. As always. Footballguys is here to help.
Rough Opening Schedule
- Buffalo Bills
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Los Angeles Rams
- Dallas Cowboys
- Los Angeles Chargers
By this point, you've probably looked at the Footballguys rankings and noticed that I have not suggested any of our Top 5. Let me explain. While these teams are very likely to finish the season in the Top 5, they all open the season against a good offense.
My issue with this is simple. How can you spend the draft capital to land one of the "best" defenses and then worry about even starting them in Week 1? The Bills play the Rams, and Dallas plays Tampa Bay. These are four of the best offenses in the league, and these games could be the week's highest scoring. To make matters worse, none of them has a particularly great Week 2 game.
The Chargers are an interesting case. They made great moves in free agency but start the year with Las Vegas and Kansas City, both division rivals and what should be good offenses. However, after that, they consecutively get Jacksonville, Houston, and Cleveland. So, if you can survive the first two weeks, the Chargers will earn you many fantasy points over the next three.
I would not advise selecting any of these teams before the 13th Round. And yes, if you wait that long, someone else will probably get them. That's okay. Unless you plan on taking two defenses or can survive negative points in Week 1, it's better that they are someone else's problem. Plus, you can probably get them on waivers in Week 3.
Avoid, but not at all costs
- Everyone Else
There are almost no unplayable defenses. It all comes down to weekly matchups. If I didn't mention a team, they are hard to trust in Week 1. While I skipped a lot of top defenses in this article, their year-end finish does no good if you lose your weekly matchup.