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Updated football football team defense rankings for 2026 NFL Playoff Leagues. These fantasy football team defense rankings are for entire-playoff NFL postseason contests.
Figuring out which defense to roll with in NFL playoff leagues is a tough task, so we're here to help. Below you'll find RotoBaller's updated 2026 fantasy football playoff league Team Defense rankings to prep for your drafts.
In our NFL playoff rankings below, you can see where defenses like the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and Los Angeles Rams stand, among all kicking options. These fantasy football playoff rankings take into account how far we predict each team will get in the NFL playoffs, so the rankings are optimally geared toward playoff league formats that span the entire NFL playoffs. The further they get in the playoffs, the more points you accrue.
In most fantasy football playoff leagues, you can choose just a single player from each NFL team when drafting your rosters. For example, if you choose the Seattle Seahawks as your defense, you cannot use Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Zach Charbonnet, Kenneth Walker III, and more. Therefore, the high-level goal is to choose the best combination of players that will play the most games (i.e. who will make it to the Super Bowl), and score the most points. Good luck, RotoBallers!
Editor's Note: The FFPC Playoff Challenge is back with a massive $500,000 grand prize and $1.35 million total prize pool, paying down to 800th place. Here's the deal: no salary cap, no draft, no pickups, no subs. Choose 10 players, and as NFL teams get knocked out so will your players, so choose your team wisely. The 7,250 entries will sell out quickly, and registrations will close on Saturday January 10th at 4:30 pm ET . Don't wait - get your team now and end your fantasy football season with a shot at $500,000! Sign Up Now!
Join A Playoff League Contest
NFL Playoff leagues are a fun way to kick off a fresh new fantasy football contest for the 2026 NFL postseason. For most of us, we've been left with a void, and that weekly excitement with season-long fantasy football leagues all wrapped up. There will be DFS contests all through the Super Bowl, but playoff league formats are really fun and replicate that season-long feel.
Most of these contests will require you to choose only a single player from each NFL team and to fill out a certain number of roster spots at each position. There are many different contests out there, but our friends at FFPC of course hold their awesome Playoff Challenge tournaments -- including one with a $500K grand prize to the first-place winner.
Playoff League Fantasy Football Team Defense Rankings
Rankings are updated until kick-off. Be sure to also check out our updated fantasy football rankings for Wild Card Weekend.
| Rank | Player | Pos |
| 1 | Denver Broncos | DST |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | DST |
| 3 | Houston Texans | DST |
| 4 | Los Angeles Rams | DST |
| 5 | Philadelphia Eagles | DST |
| 6 | New England Patriots | DST |
| 7 | Jacksonville Jaguars | DST |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | DST |
| 9 | Chicago Bears | DST |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | DST |
| 11 | Los Angeles Chargers | DST |
| 12 | Buffalo Bills | DST |
| 13 | San Francisco 49ers | DST |
| 14 | Carolina Panthers | DST |
Who Should I Start Tool
Looking for rankings just for the Wild Card Round? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common playoff fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like the Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in the playoffs.
Playoffs Player Decisions. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for the 2026 NFL playoffs. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, we've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Playoffs Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for the playoffs (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Playoff Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular playoff searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
