When to draft a defense in fantasy football

The defense and special teams position — often abbreviated to D/ST — in fantasy football is the only one involving more than a singular player. Despite it being a default position in most formats, it is often forgotten and ignored by managers.

Much like its role in the real-life NFL, defense is the less glamorous side of fantasy football. Some leagues involve individual defensive positions to play with but almost every league includes the D/ST position. Similar to the kicker position, it is not one that fantasy managers are eager to select on draft night but can sometimes make the difference between a winning or losing week.

Although all fantasy players' performance is dependent on the overall team's success, involving 11 players at once makes the D/ST unit particularly fluctuant. More than any other position, it is difficult to find a dominant defense that will deliver on a weekly basis, making it especially matchup dependent.

Also more than any other position is the difference between "real life" and fantasy when it comes to defense. The best fantasy defenses tend to be among the top defensive units in the NFL but the same concept does not apply in reverse.

Kansas City had the No. 2 overall scoring defense in 2023 but when it came to fantasy, they only finished as the 12th-best D/ST team. On the contrary, Dallas was the No. 5 scoring defense in the NFL but ended the year as the No. 1 overall D/ST unit, largely due to their league-leading five defensive touchdowns. Especially when it comes to defense, fantasy is not reality, which can sometimes even further complicate the draft process.

Exercise patience with D/ST in fantasy drafts

When drafting a defense, it is better to play the long game. It can be tempting to want to fill out the entire roster once the draft reaches the later rounds and all starting positions are booked but history has shown that there is little advantage from drafting the expected top defense earlier than others.

Preseason fantasy rankings are notoriously unstable but none are more deceptive than D/ST. No matter how good they are on paper, the preseason No. 1 ranked defense rarely finishes at the top by the end of the year and even if they do, the edge is not significant enough to take a plunge.

In 2023, Dallas' unit topped the chart to end the year as the best fantasy unit but only averaged 10.5 points per game, a slight tilt over Baltimore at 10.2. Washington finished last with an average of 3.8 fantasy points per game, substantially less than Dallas but the seven-point differential from top to bottom is remarkably less than the skill positions.

Like the kicker position, many managers have found the most success by streaming the position. Adding a new team each week based on favorable matchups is especially serviceable regarding D/ST even when it comes to the most elite defensive units.

To gain the upper hand on league-mates, target offenses early in the year with little continuity and/or a lack of offensive firepower. As the season progresses, these teams will change as injuries and other factors arise but to begin the year, look at squads such as New England, Denver, Carolina and the New York Giants who were subpar in 2023 and enter the upcoming season with an unimpressive roster.