Chances are, if you've made it to the championship or even third-place matchup in your fantasy football league, you've gotten there on the backs of a lot of great players. It's also likely some timely D/ST streams have been crucial to your run. Our Week 17 fantasy defense rankings can help you find the best sleeper to help you finish off the season on a high note.
There's no more stashing defenses for the future or gritting your teeth through a tough D/ST matchup because you don't want to make a drop. Now, it's all about finding the best defense in the best matchup for this week and this week only. That's all that matters. Just because you've started, say, the Cowboys most of the season doesn't mean you have to stick with them this week. There are several examples like that this week (Ravens, Patriots, Dolphins), so make sure you weigh all your options before locking in your start 'em, sit 'em decisions.
Let's get to work and help you find the best D/ST for Week 17.
Who are the best fantasy defenses in Week 17?
The Browns (vs. Jets in Week 17), 49ers (@ Commanders), Bills (vs. Patriots), Jaguars (vs. Panthers), and Jets (@ Browns) make up our top five this week. They all face teams that entered Week 16 in the top six in fantasy points allowed to D/STs, and they've all proven to be high-ceiling defenses throughout the year. The Jaguars are probably the weakest overall unit, but they entered last week tied with the 49ers for the most takeaways in the league, so you know there's a lot of upside there.
WEEK 17 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers
The Rams (@ Giants), Eagles (vs. Cardinals), Colts (vs. Raiders), Falcons (@ Bears), and Broncos (vs. Chargers) round out our top 10. All have highly favorable matchups against sack-prone/turnover-prone QBs, and all should have relatively high floors to go along with high ceilings. The Falcons are probably the riskiest of the bunch, but they've done a great job limiting points and getting after the QB over the past month.
WEEK 17 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers
Who are the best fantasy defense sleepers, waiver pickups in Week 17?
The Jaguars (vs. Panthers), Rams (@ Giants), Colts (vs. Raiders), and Falcons (@ Bears) are all owned in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, so they qualify as major sleepers this week.
If you need to go deeper, you could try the quietly improving Bears (vs. Falcons), Seahawks (vs. Steelers), and Texans (vs. Titans), all of whom have favorable matchups against shaky/banged-up QBs. The Chiefs (vs. Bengals) and Packers (@ Vikings) also face backup QBs and have varying degrees of talent, so they're both on the radar in deep leagues.
WEEK 17 FANTASY ADVICE:
Start 'em, sit 'em | Sleepers | Busts | Projections
At the very least, we like the above D/STs better than bigger-name units like Dallas (vs. Lions), Baltimore (vs. Miami), Miami (@ Baltimore), Pittsburgh (@ Seahawks), and New England (@ Bills). While those defenses are always capable of making some big plays and having good games, we'd rather take a chance with the D/STs in much better matchups squaring off against teams with little to play for at this point in the season.
Be sure to check back throughout the week for updates to our D/ST rankings.
WEEK 17 DFS:
Main slate DK/FD lineups | DET-DAL lineup | Best values
Fantasy Defense Rankings Week 17: Who to start, sit at D/ST
Rank Player
1 Cleveland Browns vs. Jets
2 San Francisco 49ers @ Commanders
3 Buffalo Bills vs. Patriots
4 Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Panthers
5 New York Jets @ Browns
6 Los Angeles Rams @ Giants
7 Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cardinals
8 Indianapolis Colts vs. Raiders
9 Atlanta Falcons @ Bears
10 Denver Broncos vs. Chargers
11 Dallas Cowboys vs. Lions
12 Chicago Bears vs. Falcons
13 Seattle Seahawks vs. Steelers
14 Houston Texans vs. Titans
15 Green Bay Packers @ Vikings
16 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Bengals
17 Los Angeles Chargers @ Broncos
18 New Orleans Saints @ Buccaneers
19 Baltimore Ravens vs. Dolphins
20 Las Vegas Raiders @ Colts
21 Minnesota Vikings vs. Packers
22 Carolina Panthers @ Jaguars
23 Pittsburgh Steelers @ Seahawks
24 Cincinnati Bengals @ Chiefs
25 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Saints
26 Miami Dolphins @ Ravens
27 Detroit Lions @ Cowboys
28 New England Patriots @ Bills
29 New York Giants vs. Rams
30 Tennessee Titans @ Texans
31 Washington Commanders vs. 49ers
32 Arizona Cardinals @ Eagles