Defense (D/ST) Fantasy Football Rankings - Top 10 Team Defenses for 2026 Drafts

August 10, 2026

Matt's top 10 fantasy football defenses (D/ST) to draft for 2026. Target these fantasy football team defenses (DEF) as upside picks in fantasy football drafts.

Training camps are heating up, and RotoBaller has you covered with a look at the top 10 NFL defenses you should target for fantasy football drafts for the 2026 fantasy football season.

When looking at the top defenses, fantasy managers need to find defensive squads that will create turnovers, create sacks, and produce on special teams. It also doesn't hurt to have a favorable schedule.

While strictly playing the matchups and streaming defenses have been a tried-and-true method in the past, it never hurts to have a defense you can set and forget. These are 10 defenses that will allow managers to do just that.

10. Baltimore Ravens

Depending on how your league scores defense, Baltimore has long been coveted as a top-10 fantasy option. Last season, the Ravens finished 19th in fantasy points per game, averaging 5.8 per contest. However, from Week 9 on, the Ravens would average 9.0 fantasy points per game, the fourth-most over that 9-game period.

Baltimore has one of the best-looking secondaries heading into Week 1, led by Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, and Nate Wiggins, but what Baltimore lacked the most ahead of the offseason was an edge presence. Baltimore attempted to land Maxx Crosby; however, that did not work out, but they did conveniently sign Trey Hendrickson shortly after that deal fell apart.

3.5 sacks tonight. 17.5 sacks on the season.

Trey Hendrickson was a BEAST for the @Bengals 💪 pic.twitter.com/Ul2vloeM85

— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025

The addition of Hendrickson will once again legitimize the Ravens' pass rush coming off a season in which they recorded just 30 sacks as a team. Hendrickson's last two healthy seasons resulted in 35 sacks alone.

9.  Minnesota Vikings

It feels somewhat disrespectful having the Vikings this low on the list, considering they were one of three teams to average 7.8 fantasy points per game, fifth-highest. Not to mention, Minnesota was third in defensive DVOA, fourth in sacks (49), and seventh in scoring defense (19.6).

Jonathan Greenard moving on in the offseason pushes the Vikings down, but there is still plenty of optimism for this defensive unit. Dallas Turner is poised for a breakout, with Caleb Banks adding a presence in the middle of the Vikings' front. Minnesota should be improved on the backend as well, with Byron Murphy returning alongside new addition James Pierre.

As always, the biggest determining factor is Brian Flores. Flores is among the most aggressive defensive play callers, disrupting opposing quarterbacks with a heavy dose of blitz packages, leading to sacks and turnovers, just how fantasy managers like it.

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8.  Philadelphia Eagles

When healthy, Jalen Carter is an absolute menace anchoring the Eagles' defensive line. Carter is one of the rare, true game-wreckers who forces offenses to account for him on every snap. More often than not, quarterbacks find themselves adjusting protection to account for Carter, which often leads to more opportunities for his teammates.

Last season, Philadelphia finished third in fantasy points, producing 8.2 per contest, and made several big-time additions to their defense in the form of Greenard, Riq Woolen, and Arnold Ebiketie. Those additions would make up for the losses of Nakobe Dean, Jaelan Phillips, and Reed Blankenship and form a net zero for a team that did, in fact, have a top-3 fantasy defense.

​Any time Vic Fangio is calling plays, you have a defense that should be considered among the best the game has to offer.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers

T.J. Watt. One could end the entire conversation right there. Patrick Graham is one of the best defensive coordinators in the game today, and with Watt and Alex Highsmith, there is always potential for high-scoring weeks.

Despite Watt missing three games last season, the Steelers' defense still managed to average 7.8 fantasy points per game, tied for the fifth-most, thanks in part to the 27 forced turnovers, which were the fourth-most in the league.

Not only were the Steelers great at forcing turnovers, but the 48 sacks were the sixth-most, and that’s with Watt missing time. Keep Watt healthy for 17 games, and the Steelers easily hit the 50-sack milestone.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars

We don’t ask how; we ask how many. In fantasy, last season Jacksonville got the job done. Despite ranking 26th in sacks with 22 and outside the top 10 in total yards allowed (11th with 303.6), Jacksonville finished tied for third in fantasy points per game at 8.2.

Josh Hines-Allen takes down Josh Allen

BUFvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/pccWxXCulS

— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026

For the Jaguars, it was a bend-but-don’t-break mentality, as they had the eighth-best scoring defense (19.8) and an opportunistic defense that forced 31 turnovers, the second most, including 22 interceptions. For fantasy managers, the Jaguars are the biggest boom/bust option inside the top 10; however, it is worth noting that they produced eight games with double-digit fantasy production.

Despite that volatility, the high floor and ability to generate takeaways are too good to pass up.​

5. New England Patriots

It’s best not to overthink things. Last season, New England had a top-10 fantasy defense, one that averaged 7.2 fantasy points per game and one that arguably got the best in the offseason thanks to the additions of Kevin Byard III, Dre’Mont Jones, and rookie lineman Gabe Jacas.

New England enters the 2026 season fresh off a Super Bowl performance that was aided by a defense that ranked fourth in scoring defense (18.8) and eighth in total yards allowed (295.2). One area in which New England struggled was forcing turnovers, where their 19 turnovers sat 21st in the league. That’s where Byard comes in. New England had just 10 interceptions last season, three more than Byard had on his own.

The strong play in the secondary, especially at safety, along with New England's structural discipline, has the Patriots poised once again to be a top-10 defense.

4. Denver Broncos

Any time a team has a former Defensive Player of the Year patrolling their defense, they must be considered among the elite. It also doesn’t hurt when that team has 173 sacks, including 68 last season, since the start of the 2023 season. The next closest team to that total trails by 29.

Leading the way for the Broncos' sack attack will once again be Nik Bonitto, who recorded 14 sacks of his own last season; however, he was not alone as Jonathon Cooper (eight), John Franklin-Myers (7.5), and Zach Allen (seven) also got in on the act.

Denver would be much higher on this list if they were able to force more turnovers. While Denver led the league in sacks and finished second in total yards allowed (278.2) and third in points against (18.3), the 14 turnovers forced were in the bottom four in the NFL.

Even with the loss of Franklin-Myers, Vance Joseph will once again have his unit ready. Over the last two seasons, Denver has led the NFL in defensive success rate, rush success rate, EPA/play, and EPA/dropback.

3. Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles can certainly move up this list if Aaron Donald comes out of retirement to anchor what is already considered one of the most dominant defensive fronts in the NFL. Before the addition of Myles Garrett and his 23 sacks from a season ago, the Rams bolstered a top-10 sack machine, producing 47 sacks of their own as Byron Young (12), Jared Verse (7-now with Cleveland), and Kobie Turner (seven) each had seven or more sacks.

Los Angeles knew they were going to be good up front, even before Donald started to work out for the team, but they made several additions on the back end that will have opposing quarterbacks second-guessing. While the Rams lost Cobie Durant, they added Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie, who had been long-time staples of a stingy Chiefs secondary.

2. Seattle Seahawks

Seattle was the only team last season to average more than 10 fantasy points per game, posting eight games with 10 or more fantasy points in those 16 contests.

Seattle ranked sixth in total defense, allowing 285.6 yards per game. They also finished 10th in passing yards allowed (193.9), third in rushing yards allowed (91.9), and allowed the fewest points scored per game, allowing just 17.2 per contest.

Seattle was also in the top five in terms of turnovers forced, as the 18 interceptions and 7 fumbles recovered led to 25 takeaways. Mike McDonald will have his guys tuned in after a dominant 2025 campaign with Byron Murphy II and Devon Witherspoon leading the way.

1. Houston Texans

Only the Seattle Seahawks scored more fantasy points last season than the Houston Texans, who averaged 9.5 fantasy points per game.

Will Anderson Jr. was relentless on this sack 😤

BUFvsHOU on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/FO56ePtVI7

— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2025

Houston is led up front by Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, who combined for 27 sacks last season, pushing the Texans' total in that department up to 47, the seventh-most. Sacks are one of the best ways to determine fantasy success, as are turnovers, and only the Bears and Jaguars created more turnovers than the 29 that the Texans forced.

Pressure up front, along with a secondary led by Derek Stingley Jr., featured four defensive backs who each produced four interceptions. Stingley was one of the four, along with Jalen Pitre, Kamari Lassiter, and Calen Bullock.

Houston got better this offseason, adding Safety Reed Blankenship and defensive linemen Logan Hall and Kayden McDonald.

Honorable mentions: Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers (when Micah Parsons returns), Carolina Panthers, and Kansas City Chiefs

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