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Fantasy football playoffs defense (DST) rankings - Week 17 rankings for 2025. Who to start at defense (DST)? Read the top-accuracy fantasy football rankings.
It's Week 17 and the fantasy playoffs championships in most leagues, so choosing the right D/ST option could be the deciding factor in your matchups. Set your D/ST lineups with our fantasy football playoffs defense (DST) rankings for Week 17. In these updated defense rankings, you will see where defenses such as New England Patriots DST, Detroit Lions DST, Seattle Seahawks DST, New York Giants DST, New Orleans Saints DST, Dallas Cowboys DST, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, DST Los Angeles Rams DST, and more stand among all top 32 D/ST options.
Nick Mariano puts together our fantasy football playoffs rankings. Below the rankings, you will also find a summary of the important fantasy football news for this week. There are always key injuries and developments to keep track of, so check back throughout the week for updates.
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Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings:- Overall fantasy football rankings
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Fantasy Playoffs Defense (DST) Rankings (Week 17)
| D/ST Tier |
D/ST Rank |
D/ST Name | Pos. |
| 1 | 1 | Denver Broncos | DST |
| 1 | 2 | New England Patriots | DST |
| 1 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | DST |
| 1 | 4 | Detroit Lions | DST |
| 2 | 5 | Seattle Seahawks | DST |
| 2 | 6 | Houston Texans | DST |
| 3 | 7 | New York Giants | DST |
| 3 | 8 | New Orleans Saints | DST |
| 3 | 9 | Dallas Cowboys | DST |
| 3 | 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | DST |
| 4 | 11 | Los Angeles Rams | DST |
| 4 | 12 | Tennessee Titans | DST |
| 4 | 13 | Los Angeles Chargers | DST |
| 4 | 14 | Jacksonville Jaguars | DST |
| 4 | 15 | Green Bay Packers | DST |
| 5 | 16 | Cincinnati Bengals | DST |
| 5 | 17 | Minnesota Vikings | DST |
| 5 | 18 | Baltimore Ravens | DST |
| 5 | 19 | Philadelphia Eagles | DST |
| 5 | 20 | Cleveland Browns | DST |
| 5 | 21 | Las Vegas Raiders | DST |
| 5 | 22 | Buffalo Bills | DST |
| 6 | 23 | Chicago Bears | DST |
| 6 | 24 | Miami Dolphins | DST |
| 6 | 25 | San Francisco 49ers | DST |
| 6 | 26 | Carolina Panthers | DST |
| 6 | 27 | Kansas City Chiefs | DST |
| 7 | 28 | Atlanta Falcons | DST |
| 7 | 29 | Indianapolis Colts | DST |
| 7 | 30 | Arizona Cardinals | DST |
| 7 | 31 | Washington Commanders | DST |
| 7 | 32 | New York Jets | DST |
Fantasy Football Playoffs Defense (DST) Rankings Outlooks
Detroit Lions D/ST
The Detroit Lions' defense has been an abject disaster in recent weeks, allowing opponents to score an average of 31.6 points per game over the team's last five games. Detroit's secondary has been ravaged by injuries, as star safeties Brian Branch (Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (knee) are done for the season, and backup safety Avonte Maddox (back, illness) has been ruled out for Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings.
However, Minnesota is dealing with some significant injury absences of its own, most notably quarterback J.J. McCarthy (hand). The Vikings will start rookie Max Brosmer under center in Week 17. In Brosmer's lone other start this season, he averaged 4.2 yards per pass attempt and threw four interceptions in Week 13 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Fantasy managers should proceed with caution around this leaky Lions' defense. However, the Detroit D/ST could be a decent streaming option in Week 17 against Brosmer and the Vikings
Kansas City Chiefs D/ST
The Kansas City Chiefs defense gave up 24 points to the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 while recording two sacks and zero takeaways. The Chiefs' defense has now allowed 20 or more points in 10 of 15 games this season. The Kansas City defensive unit has also recorded two or fewer sacks in 10 of 15 games.
Kansas City will now take on the Denver Broncos, who are trying to clinch the top seed in the AFC with the Los Angeles Chargers just one game behind them. The Broncos offense has gained the 10th-most yards per game this season, so the Chiefs defense could have its hands full on Christmas Day.
The Chiefs' defense is ranked 27th in our RotoBaller rankings, making them a defensive unit to avoid in Week 17.
Denver Broncos D/ST
The Denver Broncos defense should be ready for a dominant performance as they face an injury-riddled Kansas City Chiefs offense in Week 17. The Chiefs will be without quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee), backup quarterback Gardner Minshew (knee), and wide receiver Rashee Rice (concussion) as the narrative has dramatically shifted for them since the last divisional matchup in Week 11.
Coming into Week 17, the Broncos have allowed the 5th-fewest points per game, averaging 19.7. With third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun getting the start in Week 17, the Broncos' defense should bring that scoring average to an even lower number despite potentially being without linebacker Dre Greenlaw (hamstring).
As the best defense in RotoBaller's Week 17 rankings, the Broncos should be started universally.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? 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 Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 17.
Week 17 Player Decisions. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season. 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 Week 17 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 17 (2025)? 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 Week 17 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 17 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool, New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
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