Richard Janvrin | Thu, Jun 18th 2026, 10:14am EDT

Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: How to Draft Defenses (2026)

While kicker and D/ST positions have started to become rarer over time in fantasy football as players move more toward league settings with additional FLEX and/or bench spots, a strong performance from a D/ST can be the difference between winning and losing a matchup.

When it comes to draft prep, players often don’t devote a lot of time to thinking about the position. However, below you will find a complete guide to thinking about this position before your drafts.

Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Defenses

Waiting is Fine

A standard fantasy lineup consists of one quarterback, two or three receivers, two running backs, one tight end, one FLEX slot, one D/ST and one kicker. As a result, the defense is a small part of your lineup, but still a spot you need to roster and hope to get points out of.

However, among all the positions, next to kicker, I’d recommend waiting until the last couple of rounds before drafting a D/ST.

Last season, the Seattle Seahawks had the top defense after a legendary year, allowing just 167 points. While they were far and away the best real-life defense, they tied for the fifth-most points (125). There was only a 16-point difference between them and the fantasy D/ST13.

Depending on the size of your league, you could get a solid defense without worrying about selecting some of the worst units, such as the New York Jets, who had only 51 points and were the worst-scoring D/ST.

There are some exceptions to the rule, such as if you had known how great the Seahawks’ defense would have been, but there hasn’t been a defense that has repeated as the top unit since 2013 (when FantasyPros began tracking). The closest to that happening came in 2021 and 2023, with the Dallas Cowboys.

Thus, instead of trying to draft the D/ST1, there are alternate ways to attack this position.

Understand League Rules & Bench Slots

The strategy for D/ST can change massively depending on your roster rules. If you’re in a mid-size league, such as 12 teams, but have more bench spots than typical (such as 10 as opposed to six), this could be a good spot to draft some dart throws.

As for a league with a standard roster size and bench, continue drafting defenses late. The 167 points the Seahawks D/ST scored in 2025 were right around the mark for players like Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr. (only played 12 games). The average draft position (ADP) for the current D/ST1 in 2026, the Houston Texans, is 201 overall.

I highly recommend waiting until the later rounds rather than feeling the need to fill out your roster before addressing the bench.

Draft With the Early Season in Mind

One of my favorite strategies for drafting fantasy defenses is looking at early-season schedules. If you see a D/ST is playing a string of teams with low projected win totals, or you view as inferior to the rest of the league, these could be possible picks to target and worry about later.

With D/ST, this is the position I stream, as matchups matter a ton.

For example, the Los Angeles Chargers play the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders in Weeks 1 and 2. These are two teams that aren’t projected to win many games. As for the Cardinals, the offense doesn’t even have a starting quarterback announced as of June 2026.

Instead of trying to find the D/ST1 in August or September, focus on units with easy opening schedules and adjust from there via streaming.

Important Stats to Evaluate D/ST

When I think of D/ST, I think of two things: Teams that can generate pressure and those that have potential for return touchdowns.

For example, a big part of what contributed to the Seahawks’ success and made them the highest-scoring unit since 2022 was that they had two punt-return touchdowns and one kick-return touchdown, but they also recorded 277 pressures.

Pressures are a great stat to follow because they can lead to sacks, fumbles or interceptions, including pick-six touchdown returns.

Bottom Line

The D/ST position is one that’s undervalued in fantasy football, but if you manage to strike gold and stumble across a consistent performer, setting lineups becomes easier.

That said, don’t be afraid to play the matchups. The difference in points from a top D/ST to a fringe top-12 unit isn’t enough to warrant overspending in your drafts.

If you have a larger bench, I’d consider drafting a couple to see which ones can stick. Otherwise, wait to draft a D/ST until the final two rounds and focus on building your bench for additional depth, especially at running back. That is a position that can become thin in a hurry. The wide receiver also sees late-round players emerge as solid weekly starters.

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