They say defense wins championships, and the past two title winners -- the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles and 2025 Seattle Seahawks -- can attest to that. One allowed the fewest total yards during the regular season and the other the fewest points, and both put forth dominating defensive efforts in their Super Bowl victories.
But while that's all well and good in the on-field game, defenses carry nowhere near the same level of importance in fantasy football.
As a team-oriented position, team defense/special teams (or D/ST) is volatile. It is subject to the league's any-given-Sunday mindset, and injuries, coaching, defensive scheme, opponent, weather and travel can wildly swing the weekly results. This is not a position at which you can lock in a single D/ST and expect to successfully navigate 17 weeks.
To that point, it has been 13 years since the D/ST selected first on average in ESPN leagues actually scored the position's most fantasy points. In fact, of the past 10 D/STs picked first, only three even finished among its top five in scoring.
This isn't to say that defenses are unimportant. Top-10 D/STs averaged 9.1 fantasy points per game in 2025, which was roughly a point and a half less than what the No. 10 tight end would've given you. It might not have been much, but when head-to-head play is as competitive as it is, every point counts.
To maximize your weekly D/ST output while not wasting precious draft-day resources, ignore the most highly-regarded defenses in favor of picking from the position's best matchups from week to week. This streaming strategy involves a time commitment, but the scoring payoff is well worth the investment.
Over the past three seasons, top-five scoring D/STs for the season averaged 9.6 fantasy points per game. In contrast, the D/STs that faced the position's five most favorable matchups last season averaged 10.4 points. That wasn't a one-year aberration, as the latter group averaged at least a point per game more than the former in each of the past four seasons.
This assumes that you're able to accurately identify these favorable matchups ... and it's not enough to simply point at the NFL's worst offenses. Considering point-getting D/ST categories like sacks, interceptions and fumble recoveries is also part of the process. It's the "homework" part of the exercise. And no one likes homework.
That's where this column comes in. It's my annual Team D/ST Road Map, which spares you all that research time. Provided below are streaming matchups for each of the season's first four weeks individually, as well as D/ST draft-day targets with favorable multi-week matchups from the season's start.
Starting with the best and worst matchups themselves, consider targeting or avoiding the following offenses as part of your overall D/ST strategy.
Top 10 offenses to exploit
1. Cleveland Browns
2. Las Vegas Raiders
3. New York Jets
4. Miami Dolphins
5. Tennessee Titans
6. Arizona Cardinals
7. Atlanta Falcons
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
10. New Orleans Saints
Top 10 offenses to avoid
1. Los Angeles Rams
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Detroit Lions
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Philadelphia Eagles
6. Cincinnati Bengals
7. Denver Broncos
8. Chicago Bears
9. Dallas Cowboys
10. Kansas City Chiefs
Fantasy football managers who stream D/STs do require a draft-day strategy. It just shouldn't involve paying a pre-Round 15 pick. One of these multi-week D/ST options is preferred, but you can still choose a Week 1 streamer and go the week-by-week route. All D/STs profiled in this space have been gone undrafted in at least 50% of ESPN drafts this preseason.
Schedule-driven draft day targets
1. Los Angeles Chargers: They're a two-weeks-and-cut D/ST, but what an opening two weeks they are. The Chargers, the No. 11 D/ST in scoring last season, host the Cardinals and Raiders to begin 2026. This is a defense that has been held back in the past by injuries, but stars Derwin James Jr. and Khalil Mack (who are currently healthy) should be least at risk of injury absence in September.
2. Green Bay Packers: Micah Parsons' PUP list status confirms that he'll need until at least October to recover from his torn ACL, casting some matchups risk upon the Packers' opening-week road game against the middling Minnesota Vikings. But there's enough talent here to keep the team afloat for Week 1, and the Packers then get the Jets (road) and Falcons (home) the next two weeks.
3. Atlanta Falcons: A blitz-happy defense that should capitalize upon weaker opposing quarterbacks, the Falcons get two of them right from season's start in the Steelers (Aaron Rodgers) and Panthers (Bryce Young). The Packers on the road in Week 3 is a matchup to be avoided, but the Falcons then return to streaming-friendly status against second-year QB Tyler Shough and the Saints in Week 4.
4. Cincinnati Bengals: One of the league's thinner D/STs, the Bengals could be a target for Knockout leagues -- remember, they require at least 18 D/STs out of the draft -- due to their soft September (and early October) schedule. Every one of the Bengals' first five opponents grades a middling-to-good D/ST matchup: Tampa Bay, at Houston, at Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, at Miami.
A D/ST for the long haul: Baltimore Ravens
Going only sixth at the position on average in ESPN leagues, the Ravens have the season's most favorable positional schedule. Only the Cowboys (Week 3), Bengals (Weeks 7 and 17) and Bills (Week 8) stand out as particularly challenging matchups, and 12 of their 17 matchups grade average or better. If the Ravens D/ST falls into your lap in Rounds 15-16, they should be prioritized.
D/ST to avoid on draft day: Houston Texans
You read that right: The No. 1 D/ST being drafted on average also has the roughest September stretch, something you must take into account in Knockout formats. The Texans, the second highest-scoring D/ST as well as the unit most commonly found on championship rosters in 2025, face the Bills and Bengals the first two weeks as well as the Cowboys in Week 4. In their defense -- pun unintended -- the Texans averaged 10.5 fantasy points in their four games against the league's eight toughest matchups, but their schedule is still worth considering before paying a hefty premium to secure them.
D/ST week-by-week Road Map
If you're unable to get any of the recommended D/STs above, here's a handy guide for streaming the position on a weekly basis. All D/STs are ranked in order of preference regardless of roster rate in ESPN leagues, so that you won't miss a higher-quality defense that might somehow become available in yours.
This D/ST Road Map covers the first four weeks of the NFL season. We'll have updated, in-season versions to help steer you through Weeks 5-8, 9-12 and 13-17.
Defenses rostered in fewer than 50% of ESPN leagues are both italicized and bolded to identify optimal streaming matchups, while those to avoid are over that threshold. Higher-rostered D/STs are included in these rankings to illustrate the relative value of elite defenses versus streamers, as well as to guide you in the event that a top D/ST comes available due to a competitor cutting them in a bad-matchup week.
Week 1
1. Steelers (ATL)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (CLE)
3. Chargers (ARI)
4. Ravens (@IND)
5. Lions (NO)
6. Jets (@TEN)
7. Bears (@CAR)
8. Titans (NYJ)
Avoid: Texans (BUF).
Week 2
1. Seahawks (@ARI)
2. Eagles (@TEN)
3. Chargers (LV)
4. New England Patriots (PIT)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (CLE)
6. Ravens (NO)
7. Packers (@NYJ)
8. San Francisco 49ers (MIA)
Avoid: Lions (@BUF), Jaguars (@DEN), Texans (CIN).
Week 3
1. Lions (NYJ)
2. Texans (@IND)
3. Browns (CAR)
4. Chiefs (@MIA)
5. 49ers (ARI)
6. Packers (ATL)
7. New York Giants (TEN)
8. Panthers (@CLE)
Avoid: Broncos (LAR), Steelers (CIN), Eagles (@CHI), Ravens (@DAL).
Week 4
1. Steelers (@CLE)
2. Ravens (TEN)
3. Chiefs (@LV)
4. Lions (@CAR)
5. Bears (NYJ)
6. Browns (PIT)
7. Giants (ARI)
8. Vikings (MIA)
Avoid: Eagles (LAR), Patriots (@BUF), Rams (@PHI).
