These 2019 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 2019 Fantasy Football articles, including sleepers, busts, tons of 2019 Fantasy Football mock drafts and other material. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.
Updated 5/11
I don’t believe in drafting fantasy defenses until the final couple of rounds. Someone always reaches for a defense way too early in every fantasy draft. I prefer to grab as many running backs and receivers as possible, and then wait on a defense in the final round. I then play matchups with my defenses. I’ll explain this later, but here are my brief 2019 fantasy defense rankings, which will be much different than most publications because of my matchup strategy:
- Baltimore Ravens. Bye: 8. (Week 1: Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles. Bye: 10. (Week 1: Redskins)
- Seattle Seahawks. Bye: 11. (Week 1: Bengals)
- Dallas Cowboys. Bye: 8. (Week 1: Giants)
- Los Angeles Rams. Bye: 9.
- Minnesota Vikings. Bye: 12.
- Denver Broncos. Bye: 10. (Week 1: Raiders)
- Cleveland Browns. Bye: 7.
- Chicago Bears. Bye: 6.
- Los Angeles Chargers. Bye: 12.
- Jacksonville Jaguars. Bye: 10.
- Houston Texans. Bye: 10.
- New Orleans Saints. Bye: 9.
- Buffalo Bills. Bye: 6.
- Tennessee Titans. Bye: 11.
- New York Giants. Bye: 11.
- Arizona Cardinals. Bye: 12.
- Washington Redskins. Bye: 10.
- San Francisco 49ers. Bye: 4.
- Pittsburgh Steelers. Bye: 7.
- New England Patriots. Bye: 10.
- Carolina Panthers. Bye: 7.
- Atlanta Falcons. Bye: 9.
- Detroit Lions. Bye: 5.
- New York Jets. Bye: 4.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bye: 7.
- Green Bay Packers. Bye: 11.
- Indianapolis Colts. Bye: 6.
- Oakland Raiders. Bye: 6.
- Cincinnati Bengals. Bye: 9.
- Kansas City Chiefs. Bye: 12.
- Miami Dolphins. Bye: 5.
Rotating Fantasy Football Defenses:
As I said, I love to rotate fantasy defenses based on matchups. I’ve identified several teams as having probable crappy offenses that you can go against (note that this list will change after the 2019 NFL Draft:
Terrible Offenses:
Bad Offenses:
It’s also worth noting that you can luck into landing a great defense using this strategy. Several years ago in one league, I picked up the 49ers early because they had a matchup versus rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. They were doing so well that I just decided to keep them, but always signed another defense if San Francisco matched up against a potent offense. The same happened with Carolina in one of my leagues last year.
More 2019 Fantasy Football Articles:
Fantasy Football Rankings
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 8/26 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings - 8/12 (Chet)
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 9/4 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings - 8/12 (Chet)
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/3 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings - 8/12 (Chet)
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 8/29 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings - 8/12 (Chet)
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 5/11 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 5/11 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Dynasty - 8/27 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
2019 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/29 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Real Draft - 8/28 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft - 8/22 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/15 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft - 8/8 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/1 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Experts Draft - 6/23 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft - 5/23 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2019 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 PPR - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Half-PPR - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 2-QB - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Touchdown League - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Custom - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football: Dynasty Rankings - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Spreadsheets - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Articles:
2019 Fantasy Football Stock Report: OTAs, Training Camp - 9/4 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 9/1 (Walt)
2019 NFL Preseason Game Recaps - 8/30 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Preseason Games - 8/30 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football Busts - 8/27 (Walt)
2019 Fantasy Football: Wide Receiver Values - 8/20 (Chet)
2019 Fantasy Football: Running Back Values - 8/13 (Chet)
2019 Fantasy Football: Quarterback Values - 8/8 (Chet)
2019 Fantasy Football Round-by-Round Strategy Guide - 8/7 (Walt)
NFL Picks - Dec. 15
2025 NFL Mock Draft - Dec. 11
NFL Power Rankings - Dec. 9
2026 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 29
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
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Injured/injury risk
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Potential bust
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Potential sleeper
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Rank higher in touchdown leagues
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Rank higher in PPR (points per reception) leagues
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