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Matt's top team defense (D/ST) fantasy football starts for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. Follow these fantasy football D/ST starts when setting lineups and win more.
Drafts are fast and furious with the kickoff of the 2026 NFL season just days away, which means it's time to put the finishing touches on your fantasy football rosters!
RotoBaller analyst Matt Donnelly drops his MUST START DEFENSE (D/ST) units for Week 1 of the season. Snag these dynamic defenses at the tail-end of drafts and get them in your lineups now! Win MORE in 2026 with RotoBaller!
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Week 1 D/ST Fantasy Football Must Starts
Matt Donnelly drops his top Defenses for Week 1 of the 2026 fantasy football season:
Thanks for listening to today's episode! Be sure to tune in throughout the week, and to also follow RotoBaller on Twitter, YouTube, Spotify and iTunes for the latest fantasy news and analysis. Kick off the 2026 football season with amazing offers - including FREE RotoBaller Premium - from our partners Fantasy Genius, Novig, and Prophet X.
Defense (D/ST) Fantasy Football Rankings
You can also check out our team's full fantasy football D/ST rankings below:
| Tier | Rank | Player Name | Pos |
| 1 | 1 | Jacksonville Jaguars | DST |
| 1 | 2 | Los Angeles Chargers | DST |
| 1 | 3 | Houston Texans | DST |
| 1 | 4 | Denver Broncos | DST |
| 2 | 5 | Baltimore Ravens | DST |
| 2 | 6 | Los Angeles Rams | DST |
| 2 | 7 | Seattle Seahawks | DST |
| 2 | 8 | Chicago Bears | DST |
| 2 | 9 | Tennessee Titans | DST |
| 3 | 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | DST |
| 3 | 11 | Philadelphia Eagles | DST |
| 3 | 12 | Green Bay Packers | DST |
| 3 | 13 | Minnesota Vikings | DST |
| 3 | 14 | Buffalo Bills | DST |
| 3 | 15 | Las Vegas Raiders | DST |
| 4 | 16 | New York Jets | DST |
| 4 | 17 | New England Patriots | DST |
| 4 | 18 | Kansas City Chiefs | DST |
| 4 | 19 | Dallas Cowboys | DST |
| 5 | 20 | Atlanta Falcons | DST |
| 5 | 21 | Cleveland Browns | DST |
| 5 | 22 | Detroit Lions | DST |
| 5 | 23 | New York Giants | DST |
| 6 | 24 | Indianapolis Colts | DST |
| 6 | 25 | Miami Dolphins | DST |
| 6 | 26 | San Francisco 49ers | DST |
| 6 | 27 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | DST |
| 6 | 28 | Arizona Cardinals | DST |
| 6 | 29 | Cincinnati Bengals | DST |
| 7 | 30 | Carolina Panthers | DST |
| 7 | 31 | New Orleans Saints | DST |
| 7 | 32 | Washington Commanders | DST |
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific defenses: Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 1.
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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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 that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 1 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 1 (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 Week 1 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 1 for Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
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