NFL teams are beginning summer practices and the NFL preseason is here! Now is the time to prepare for your fantasy football drafts. We’ll have you covered with our Defense (DST) fantasy football draft rankings and Fantasy Football Draft Kit to help you dominate your leagues. And be sure to sync your league to practice with fast and free fantasy football mock drafts. Below we dive into 2024 Defense (DST) fantasy football draft rankings from some of our fantasy football expert community.
- 2026 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer
- Best Fantasy Football Rankings
Fantasy Football Draft Rankings: Defenses (DST)
Defense wins championships — and in fantasy football, the right D/ST can rack up serious points with sacks, turnovers, and special teams scores. In 2026, savvy fantasy managers know not to overlook this position (or overvalue the position), especially when elite defensive performances are almost solely tied to favorable matchups.
Simply put….who is playing the New Orleans Saints / New York Giants this week?
We are looking for defenses that can put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, such as the Dallas Cowboys, to create consistent pressure and turnover opportunities. Add in dynamic returner KaVontae Turpin, who remains one of the most explosive special-teams weapons in the NFL, and you have a unit that can score in all phases. Especially with the newer kickoff rules, further incentivizing more returns.
In this article, we break down the top fantasy football D/STs for 2026, including favorable early-season schedules, streaming defenses by matchup, and late-round sleepers that you can draft confidently with your last pick.
Whether you want a set-it-and-forget-it defense or a rotation of matchup-based plays, these rankings will give you the edge.
But keep in mind. If your league doesn’t require you to draft one…don’t! Take another RB/WR instead before Week 1 starts. I guarantee that you will still be able to find a useable DST off waivers even after the draft concludes.
Fantasy Football Draft Rankings: Defenses
Here are our latest Defense (DST) Fantasy Football Draft Rankings from our consensus of fantasy football experts. You can find the latest Defense (DST) rankings here and sync your league for specific advice.
| RK | TIERS | PLAYER NAME | TEAM | BEST | WORST | AVG. | STD.DEV | ECR VS. ADP |
| 1 | 1 | Houston Texans | HOU | 1 | 5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | Denver Broncos | DEN | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1.3 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | Los Angeles Rams | LAR | 1 | 30 | 3.6 | 3.8 | -1 |
| 4 | 1 | Seattle Seahawks | SEA | 1 | 29 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 5 | 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | PHI | 3 | 28 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 6 | 2 | New England Patriots | NE | 3 | 27 | 8 | 3.5 | 0 |
| 7 | 2 | Minnesota Vikings | MIN | 4 | 25 | 8.4 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | PIT | 3 | 13 | 8.5 | 2.2 | 0 |
| 9 | 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | JAC | 3 | 18 | 9.1 | 2.6 | 1 |
| 10 | 3 | Los Angeles Chargers | LAC | 4 | 19 | 10.3 | 2.4 | 2 |
| 11 | 3 | Baltimore Ravens | BAL | 4 | 27 | 10.8 | 3.8 | -2 |
| 12 | 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | KC | 6 | 21 | 13 | 2.9 | 2 |
| 13 | 3 | Green Bay Packers | GB | 9 | 23 | 13.3 | 3.1 | 0 |
| 14 | 4 | Detroit Lions | DET | 7 | 24 | 15 | 3.3 | -3 |
| 15 | 4 | Cleveland Browns | CLE | 7 | 28 | 15.4 | 4.5 | 2 |
| 16 | 4 | Buffalo Bills | BUF | 9 | 26 | 15.7 | 2.8 | 0 |
| 17 | 4 | New Orleans Saints | NO | 8 | 27 | 18.8 | 3.7 | 5 |
| 18 | 4 | San Francisco 49ers | SF | 14 | 28 | 19.1 | 3.3 | 1 |
| 19 | 4 | Indianapolis Colts | IND | 10 | 24 | 19.5 | 2.8 | 6 |
| 20 | 4 | Atlanta Falcons | ATL | 14 | 32 | 19.9 | 4 | 1 |
| 21 | 4 | Chicago Bears | CHI | 10 | 31 | 20.2 | 4.2 | -6 |
| 22 | 4 | Dallas Cowboys | DAL | 8 | 30 | 21.3 | 5.3 | -4 |
| 23 | 5 | New York Giants | NYG | 12 | 28 | 22.7 | 3.1 | -3 |
| 24 | 5 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | TB | 13 | 28 | 22.8 | 3.6 | -1 |
Fantasy Football Player Notes: Defense (DST)
The Chargers will take on the Arizona Cardinals and the Las Vegas Raiders to start the year. Best schedule for any DST. Draft them and start the Bolts with confidence through the first two weeks of the 2026 season.
– Andrew Erickson
The Chiefs have the third-easiest schedule to start the year (easiest through first four weeks). Gives ample time for Patrick Mahomes to be brought up to speed (also has a bye in Week 5) and for the defense to prove it’s worth. KC added to its defensive line this offseason but lost key secondary pieces, suggesting they face a surplus of pass attempts in 2026. They also finished 30th in opponent fumbles and last in non-offensive TDs (0). Week 1 is at home versus Denver, followed by matchups versus Indy, Miami and Las Vegas.
– Andrew Erickson
The Colts were the DST7 in fantasy points per game last year and could enter the top five this season if their addition of Sauce Gardner can transform their secondary. Gardner was banged up last year after arriving from New York (limited to four games with Indy). He will be a nice jolt to a secondary that was tenth in interceptions last season. He and Charvarius Ward could form one of the best outside corner tandems in the NFL. Last year, Indy was 16th in pressure rate, but if Laiatu Latu takes another step in 2026, they could be top 12.
– Derek Brown
The Lions have the easiest schedule in the NFL (specifically through the first 5 weeks of the season). With them also due to experience positive injury regression on the defensive side of the ball, they are an easy sleeper DST to snag with your last pick. Generated the 4th-most passes defended last year (but just 13 interceptions) and a top-10 defense according to DVOA. Also dropped the second-most interceptions (9).
– Andrew Erickson
The Cowboys could be another worst to (near) first defensive story in 2026. Last year, they were DST26 in fantasy points per game, but this offseason they kept adding talent to the defensive side of the ball. Caleb Downs, Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence, Jaishawn Barham, and Jalen Thompson could help transform this defense into a nasty unit. Yes, their secondary, namely their starting corners (Cobie Durant, DaRon Bland, and possibly Shavon Revel), has to prove they are up to the task, but the talent is there. We just have to see it manifest on the field.
– Derek Brown
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