The Tiers of Fantasy Football Defenses
The first real slate of preseason games are happening this weekend, and that means fantasy football drafts are either happening or are right around the corner. So far this offseason, we’ve talked about the tiers of quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and earlier this week we discussed tight ends. Today, we close our fantasy tier lists by going over each fantasy football defense.
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Tier 5: Don’t Bother
- Houston Texans
- Atlanta Falcons
- New York Jets
- Chicago Bears
- Seattle Seahawks
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- New York Giants
These defenses are likely going to be among the worst in the NFL. There is no reason to put any of them on your fantasy teams. Many of them were awful last year, and if they weren’t they lost enough star power to warrant a lack of faith in them this year. The Bears in particular lost multiple starters on a defense that wasn’t great in 2021 to begin with.
Tier 4: Replacement Units
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Washington Commanders
- Tennessee Titans
- Carolina Panthers
- Cincinnati Bengals
If your defense is on bye or ends up having a tough matchup, these are the units to consider. The Raiders and Commanders in particular have a good enough pass rush that they are viable options almost on a weekly basis. The question is whether or not the run defense or secondary can hold up.
Tier 3: Shows Promise but Have Question Marks
- Minnesota Vikings
- Miami Dolphins
- Arizona Cardinals
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Detroit Lions
These defenses were in the mid-to-lower groups in 2021, but they made some intriguing acquisitions that could bolster them into relevance in 2022. If you end up watching many of the top units go off the board early on, it may be worth betting on these groups turning elite as the year goes on. Worst-case scenario, there are enough options out there on a weekly basis that streaming based on matchups should be a possibility.
Tier 2: Solid Groups with Multiple Stars
- Indianapolis Colts
- Green Bay Packers
- Los Angeles Rams
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Dallas Cowboys
- Baltimore Ravens
The fantasy football defenses that land in this group are the units you should grab if you just miss out on the top-tier teams. These defenses have stars at every level and should be consistent enough to benefit your fantasy team on a weekly basis.
In particular, the Chargers are a very intriguing group with the addition of Khalil Mack and the second season of CB Asante Samuel Jr. The Packers should be another team that has great showings on nearly a weekly basis.
Tier 1: The Elites
- Buffalo Bills
- New Orleans Saints
- Denver Broncos
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- New England Patriots
- San Francisco 49ers
Once one of these defenses goes off the board, the rest should follow in rapid succession. These groups can feasibly put together double-digit points on any given week, and if you don’t want to worry about your fantasy football defense, these are the groups to shoot for. New England and San Francisco carry some questions, but it is more due to their offenses’ abilities to keep them off the field for periods of time than anything else.