NFL Defense vs Position Rankings 2021-22

Fantasy points allowed to running backs by every NFL defense • Final season

Completed 2021-22 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.
QB RB WR TE
●Elite Matchup (Target)
●Good Matchup
●Average
●Tough
●Avoid

Best RB Matchups (Most Points Allowed)

#1 New York Jets 33.3 FPA
#2 Seattle Seahawks 29.9 FPA
#3 Las Vegas Raiders 27.8 FPA

Toughest RB Matchups (Fewest Points Allowed)

#32 Tennessee Titans 18.1 FPA
#31 New Orleans Saints 18.6 FPA
#30 Dallas Cowboys 20.2 FPA
Rank Team DK FPA FD FPA vs Avg 2020-21/G 2021-22/G L4 Rush Yds Rush TD Targets Rec Rec Yds Trend
1
New York Jets
33.3
 29.1
+9.8
24.4 33.3 24.5 113.6 1.35 7.2 5.9 51.5
2
Seattle Seahawks
29.9
 25.5
+6.4
23.5 29.9 28.4 94.8 0.82 8.2 7.1 61.4
3
Las Vegas Raiders
27.8
 24.2
+4.3
29.2 27.8 23.9 94.6 0.94 7.5 5.8 37.0
4
Detroit Lions
27.4
 24.5
+3.9
32.5 27.4 22.3 113.5 1.06 3.9 3.1 25.8
5
Houston Texans
27.1
 24.1
+3.6
33.6 27.1 25.3 121.6 1.06 5.5 4.1 29.8
6
New York Giants
26.8
 23.3
+3.3
24.8 26.8 27.5 113.2 0.76 6.7 5.4 42.1
7
Pittsburgh Steelers
26.5
 23.2
+3.0
19.2 26.5 27.2 120.6 0.76 5.8 4.4 37.7
8
Los Angeles Chargers
25.7
 22.9
+2.2
23.8 25.7 22.5 117.7 1.06 4.8 3.5 24.9
9
Atlanta Falcons
25.3
 21.9
+1.8
20.8 25.3 23.4 100.7 0.76 6.6 5.2 38.6
10
Cincinnati Bengals
25.0
 21.1
+1.5
25.5 25.0 26.1 82.9 0.76 7.6 6.1 44.2
11
Philadelphia Eagles
24.6
 21.0
+1.1
21.7 24.6 27.6 89.5 0.82 7.5 6.1 36.8
12
Minnesota Vikings
24.3
 21.2
+0.8
27.2 24.3 26.7 103.0 0.71 5.9 4.5 30.3
13
Kansas City Chiefs
24.2
 20.4
+0.7
25.5 24.2 24.3 91.1 0.41 7.6 6.4 51.9
14
Jacksonville Jaguars
23.9
 20.9
+0.4
30.8 23.9 24.8 98.0 1.00 5.7 3.9 28.5
15
New England Patriots
23.9
 20.3
+0.4
23.1 23.9 26.4 101.4 0.35 6.9 5.4 47.5
16
Miami Dolphins
22.5
 19.3
-1.0
21.4 22.5 25.6 92.1 0.71 6.5 4.6 32.6
17
Cleveland Browns
22.3
 19.4
-1.2
20.9 22.3 23.6 88.7 0.59 5.6 4.6 30.5
18
Washington Commanders
22.3
 19.5
-1.2
18.1 22.3 23.1 74.4 0.53 6.8 4.9 34.9
19
Denver Broncos
22.1
 19.3
-1.4
24.4 22.1 23.5 91.9 0.41 5.8 4.3 41.2
20
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22.1
 18.4
-1.4
19.4 22.1 19.4 63.6 0.41 8.2 6.8 45.8
21
Chicago Bears
21.9
 19.4
-1.6
21.1 21.9 19.3 107.7 0.53 4.8 3.9 25.8
22
Buffalo Bills
21.5
 18.9
-2.0
23.7 21.5 20.1 85.2 0.82 5.2 3.2 28.0
23
San Francisco 49ers
21.3
 18.4
-2.2
20.1 21.3 13.7 76.6 0.76 6.5 5.1 31.5
24
Arizona Cardinals
21.1
 17.8
-2.4
22.0 21.1 20.0 97.2 0.35 6.2 5.0 36.7
25
Los Angeles Rams
21.1
 18.2
-2.4
19.8 21.1 16.2 75.1 0.65 5.9 4.8 36.0
26
Indianapolis Colts
20.8
 17.8
-2.7
22.3 20.8 20.2 76.8 0.53 6.1 4.5 39.0
27
Baltimore Ravens
20.7
 18.2
-2.8
22.3 20.7 22.6 71.5 0.65 5.3 4.2 40.6
28
Carolina Panthers
20.6
 18.4
-2.9
26.2 20.6 21.8 92.2 0.71 4.6 3.5 24.3
29
Green Bay Packers
20.3
 17.7
-3.2
27.1 20.3 19.5 75.8 0.59 6.1 4.8 30.3
30
Dallas Cowboys
20.2
 17.4
-3.3
24.5 20.2 20.2 85.3 0.47 6.4 4.6 32.5
31
New Orleans Saints
18.6
 16.1
-4.9
16.7 18.6 18.4 72.0 0.41 5.9 4.4 35.1
32
Tennessee Titans
18.1
 15.7
-5.4
26.3 18.1 13.5 63.9 0.53 6.1 4.5 35.5

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

This is the completed 2021-22 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.

Moving Averages

The 2020-21/G, 2021-22/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 (23.5 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?

Softest 2021-22 matchups for QBs: Washington Commanders (23.1 FPA), Kansas City Chiefs (21.4 FPA), Baltimore Ravens (21.0 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to running backs?

Softest 2021-22 matchups for RBs: New York Jets (33.3 FPA), Seattle Seahawks (29.9 FPA), Las Vegas Raiders (27.8 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to wide receivers?

Softest 2021-22 matchups for WRs: Minnesota Vikings (44.5 FPA), Tennessee Titans (41.9 FPA), Baltimore Ravens (39.7 FPA).

How is this different early in the season?

This is the completed 2021-22 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.

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.