These 2021 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings will be updated often throughout the summer, so make sure you check back from time to time. Also, be sure to check out my other 2021 Fantasy Football articles, including sleepers, busts, tons of 2021 Fantasy Football mock drafts and other material. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.
Updated May 2021
I don’t believe in drafting fantasy defenses until the final couple of rounds. In fact, I usually don’t even draft a defense, opting instead to select as many sleepers as possible and then eventually adding a defense the Saturday of Week 1.
Someone always reaches for a defense way too early in every fantasy draft. Don’t be an idiot like that. There’s a new top defense every year. Plus, you can play matchups with defenses. I’ll explain this later, but here are my brief 2021 fantasy defense rankings, which will be much different than most publications because of my matchup strategy:
- Washington Redskins. Bye: 9.
- Los Angeles Rams. Bye: 11.
- San Francisco 49ers. Bye: 6.
- Denver Broncos. Bye: 11.
- Miami Dolphins. Bye: 14.
- Baltimore Ravens. Bye: 8.
- Chicago Bears. Bye: 10.
- Buffalo Bills. Bye: 7.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bye: 9.
- New York Giants. Bye: 10.
- New England Patriots. Bye: 14.
- Los Angeles Chargers. Bye: 7.
- Cleveland Browns. Bye: 13.
- Indianapolis Colts. Bye: 14.
- Kansas City Chiefs. Bye: 12.
- Pittsburgh Steelers. Bye: 7.
- New Orleans Saints. Bye: 6.
- Minnesota Vikings. Bye: 7.
- Seattle Seahawks. Bye: 9.
- Green Bay Packers. Bye: 13.
- New York Jets. Bye: 6.
- Arizona Cardinals. Bye: 12.
- Philadelphia Eagles. Bye: 14.
- Dallas Cowboys. Bye: 7.
- Las Vegas Raiders. Bye: 8.
- Atlanta Falcons. Bye: 6.
- Detroit Lions. Bye: 9.
- Cincinnati Bengals. Bye: 10.
- Carolina Panthers. Bye: 13.
- Tennessee Titans. Bye: 13.
- Jacksonville Jaguars. Bye: 7.
- Houston Texans. Bye: 10.
Rotating Fantasy Football Defenses:
As I said, I love to rotate fantasy defenses based on matchups. I’ll identify several teams as having probable crappy offenses that you can go against once the schedule releases.
Terrible Offenses:
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2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/5 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 9/5 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 6/9 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 6/9 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Dynasty - 5/9 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
2021 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts - 9/3 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2021 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 9/8 (Walt)
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2021 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Half-PPR - 9/8 (Walt)
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2021 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Custom - 9/8 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football: Dynasty Rankings - 9/8 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Spreadsheets - 9/8 (Walt)
2021 Fantasy Football Articles:
2021 Fantasy Football Stock Report: OTAs, Training Camp - 9/6 (Walt)
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2021 Fantasy Football Busts - 8/31 (Walt)
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NFL Picks - Nov. 20
2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20
NFL Power Rankings - Nov. 19
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
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Rank higher in PPR (points per reception) leagues
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