NFL Defense vs Position Rankings 2026-27

Fantasy points allowed to running backs by every NFL defense • recently

Week 1 baseline: built from the 2025-26 regular season (last 8 games weighted). These ratings update onto 2026-27 data automatically as games are played.
QB RB WR TE
●Elite Matchup (Target)
●Good Matchup
●Average
●Tough
●Avoid

Best RB Matchups (Most Points Allowed)

#1 New York Jets 30.4 FPA
#2 Arizona Cardinals 28.4 FPA
#3 Washington Commanders 28.0 FPA

Toughest RB Matchups (Fewest Points Allowed)

#32 Denver Broncos 16.9 FPA
#31 Seattle Seahawks 18.3 FPA
#30 Jacksonville Jaguars 18.3 FPA
Rank Team DK FPA FD FPA vs Avg 2025-26/G 2026-27/G L4 ('25) Rush Yds Rush TD Targets Rec Rec Yds Trend
1
New York Jets
30.4
 27.6
+7.8
28.7 — 33.9 111.3 1.09 4.7 3.7 36.6
2
Arizona Cardinals
28.4
 25.3
+5.8
27.0 — 32.1 117.9 1.03 5.7 4.4 36.8
3
Washington Commanders
28.0
 24.9
+5.4
26.8 — 28.4 121.1 1.05 4.9 3.4 32.2
4
Cincinnati Bengals
27.9
 24.6
+5.3
29.4 — 21.3 113.2 0.70 5.8 4.5 41.4
5
New York Giants
26.2
 23.1
+3.6
26.7 — 17.2 115.3 0.88 5.5 4.5 29.2
6
Dallas Cowboys
25.6
 22.0
+3.0
26.0 — 25.9 90.9 0.91 5.8 5.0 42.5
7
Carolina Panthers
25.3
 22.4
+2.7
24.8 — 23.1 108.1 1.02 5.3 4.3 28.8
8
Miami Dolphins
25.3
 21.9
+2.7
25.5 — 35.9 102.7 0.72 5.5 4.9 35.1
9
San Francisco 49ers
24.5
 21.2
+1.9
24.0 — 27.7 94.6 0.78 6.7 5.6 36.4
10
Buffalo Bills
24.4
 21.5
+1.8
24.9 — 21.3 104.7 0.98 5.2 3.9 25.2
11
Cleveland Browns
23.8
 21.0
+1.2
22.2 — 27.2 101.2 0.81 5.4 4.1 27.8
12
Philadelphia Eagles
23.8
 21.1
+1.2
23.8 — 19.2 98.7 0.73 5.2 3.7 38.1
13
Las Vegas Raiders
23.5
 21.1
+0.9
23.1 — 20.0 100.9 0.92 5.3 4.4 27.0
14
Green Bay Packers
22.8
 20.1
+0.2
22.0 — 27.5 106.2 0.78 5.4 4.4 26.6
15
Baltimore Ravens
22.7
 19.6
+0.1
23.4 — 21.1 78.0 0.62 6.8 5.6 44.2
16
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22.3
 19.4
-0.3
23.0 — 18.1 78.1 0.50 5.5 4.6 50.6
17
Los Angeles Rams
22.2
 19.2
-0.4
20.8 — 32.1 92.9 0.42 6.3 4.7 38.9
18
Chicago Bears
21.4
 18.9
-1.2
21.8 — 20.9 105.0 0.52 5.0 3.9 25.4
19
New Orleans Saints
21.0
 18.6
-1.6
21.5 — 14.7 100.7 0.61 4.0 3.3 23.0
20
Indianapolis Colts
20.9
 18.4
-1.7
20.5 — 18.1 91.2 0.72 5.2 3.7 23.2
21
Tennessee Titans
20.7
 18.7
-1.9
22.0 — 15.8 84.9 0.91 4.2 3.2 28.1
22
Atlanta Falcons
20.6
 18.4
-2.0
22.0 — 16.5 97.4 0.46 5.4 3.8 29.8
23
Detroit Lions
20.5
 18.5
-2.1
19.7 — 30.1 94.0 0.75 4.4 3.3 25.3
24
New England Patriots
20.3
 17.0
-2.3
19.6 — 27.5 83.7 0.54 5.4 4.4 27.2
25
Minnesota Vikings
20.2
 17.9
-2.4
20.4 — 18.1 104.9 0.72 3.9 3.1 18.8
26
Pittsburgh Steelers
20.2
 16.8
-2.4
20.2 — 17.9 97.8 0.25 5.7 4.5 31.3
27
Houston Texans
20.0
 17.4
-2.6
19.9 — 21.7 73.5 0.65 5.2 4.2 32.9
28
Kansas City Chiefs
19.6
 17.2
-3.0
19.4 — 20.8 84.6 0.48 4.6 3.8 26.1
29
Los Angeles Chargers
18.4
 16.3
-4.2
19.1 — 11.0 85.0 0.65 4.8 3.2 22.5
30
Jacksonville Jaguars
18.3
 15.7
-4.3
18.4 — 21.2 66.6 0.51 6.1 4.8 31.4
31
Seattle Seahawks
18.3
 15.4
-4.3
18.7 — 18.3 74.7 0.28 7.2 5.5 33.6
32
Denver Broncos
16.9
 15.2
-5.7
17.2 — 17.3 69.6 0.48 4.4 2.9 18.6

How These Ratings Work

FPA (Fantasy Points Allowed)

Every player game is scored with official DraftKings and FanDuel scoring (including DK yardage bonuses), then the position group is totaled per game. Higher FPA means a softer defense to target.

Season Blend

It's Week 1, so today's rankings are built from the full 2025-26 regular season with extra weight on each defense's final eight games. As 2026-27 games are played, the ratings shift onto current-season data automatically.

Moving Averages

The 2025-26/G, 2026-27/G, and L4 columns show the raw windows feeding the rating, so you can see exactly why a defense ranks where it does.

vs Average and Trend

vs Avg compares a defense to the league mean for the position (22.6 FPA for RBs). The trend arrow flags defenses drifting softer or tougher over their last four games.

Defense vs Position FAQ

What is NFL Defense vs Position (DvP)?

Defense vs Position measures how many fantasy points and raw stats each NFL defense allows to a specific position (QB, RB, WR, TE). It is built from real box scores: every player at that position who faced the defense, summed per game and averaged.

How are fantasy points allowed calculated?

We score every player game with official DraftKings and FanDuel scoring, including DraftKings 100-yard and 300-yard bonuses, then total the position group per game. FPA is the per-game average of those totals.

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to quarterbacks?

Current softest matchups for QBs: Dallas Cowboys (24.0 FPA), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (22.2 FPA), New York Jets (20.7 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to running backs?

Current softest matchups for RBs: New York Jets (30.4 FPA), Arizona Cardinals (28.4 FPA), Washington Commanders (28.0 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to wide receivers?

Current softest matchups for WRs: Dallas Cowboys (39.7 FPA), Indianapolis Colts (37.4 FPA), Detroit Lions (37.1 FPA).

How is this different early in the season?

It's Week 1, so today's rankings are built from the full 2025-26 regular season with extra weight on each defense's final eight games. As 2026-27 games are played, the ratings shift onto current-season data automatically.

Put These Matchups to Work

Pair the softest defenses with our NFL weekly projections, attack them in the DFS lineup optimizer, or shop the numbers on the player props board. Check the weekly schedule to see who draws each matchup next.