NFL Defense vs Position Rankings 2020-21

Fantasy points allowed to tight ends by every NFL defense • Final season

Completed 2020-21 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 TE Matchups (Most Points Allowed)

#1 New York Jets 18.2 FPA
#2 Chicago Bears 15.8 FPA
#3 Cleveland Browns 15.6 FPA

Toughest TE Matchups (Fewest Points Allowed)

#32 San Francisco 49ers 8.2 FPA
#31 Pittsburgh Steelers 9.2 FPA
#30 Green Bay Packers 10.4 FPA
Rank Team DK FPA FD FPA vs Avg 2019-20/G 2020-21/G L4 Targets Rec Rec Yds Rec TD 20+ Rec Trend
1
New York Jets
18.2
 15.0
+5.4
9.6 18.2 19.8 8.4 5.8 68.5 0.88 0.94
2
Chicago Bears
15.8
 12.9
+3.0
13.5 15.8 14.1 7.9 5.5 58.2 0.75 0.81
3
Cleveland Browns
15.6
 12.6
+2.8
13.5 15.6 12.2 8.3 5.9 58.8 0.62 0.62
4
Atlanta Falcons
15.5
 12.6
+2.7
12.4 15.5 14.4 7.6 5.7 59.8 0.62 0.62
5
Buffalo Bills
15.2
 12.0
+2.4
9.3 15.2 11.5 8.5 5.8 62.1 0.50 0.50
6
Cincinnati Bengals
14.8
 11.9
+2.0
11.3 14.8 9.4 7.9 5.1 61.7 0.50 0.81
7
Kansas City Chiefs
14.7
 11.8
+1.9
13.9 14.7 18.9 7.4 5.2 59.8 0.56 0.69
8
Carolina Panthers
14.4
 11.4
+1.6
9.7 14.4 15.3 8.0 5.6 56.2 0.50 0.56
9
Jacksonville Jaguars
13.9
 11.8
+1.1
12.0 13.9 16.7 6.1 4.1 50.6 0.81 0.75
10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
13.9
 11.2
+1.1
14.2 13.9 15.7 7.4 5.4 52.0 0.56 0.44
11
Philadelphia Eagles
13.7
 11.0
+0.9
9.8 13.7 12.6 6.6 4.9 52.1 0.56 0.62
12
Los Angeles Chargers
13.3
 10.9
+0.5
10.0 13.3 13.7 6.8 4.4 47.8 0.62 0.69
13
Denver Broncos
13.1
 10.0
+0.3
12.7 13.1 16.1 7.0 5.1 58.2 0.31 1.00
14
New Orleans Saints
13.0
 10.4
+0.2
11.5 13.0 16.7 8.1 4.8 44.2 0.56 0.31
15
Tennessee Titans
12.9
 10.5
+0.1
14.2 12.9 10.5 6.2 4.7 52.4 0.50 0.50
16
Las Vegas Raiders
12.8
 9.9
0.0
— 12.8 14.6 7.6 4.8 53.9 0.38 0.56
17
Seattle Seahawks
12.6
 10.1
-0.2
15.6 12.6 14.2 7.4 4.8 54.4 0.38 0.81
18
Baltimore Ravens
12.3
 9.7
-0.5
8.0 12.3 9.9 7.5 5.2 51.9 0.31 0.50
19
Houston Texans
12.3
 9.8
-0.5
13.6 12.3 10.6 6.6 4.7 51.6 0.38 0.38
20
New York Giants
12.1
 9.5
-0.7
12.8 12.1 16.1 7.1 4.9 53.9 0.25 0.56
21
Minnesota Vikings
12.0
 9.6
-0.8
10.9 12.0 10.3 6.2 4.4 54.7 0.31 0.75
22
Detroit Lions
11.9
 9.9
-0.9
11.8 11.9 17.7 5.9 3.8 42.5 0.56 0.50
23
Los Angeles Rams
11.8
 9.4
-1.0
12.5 11.8 8.1 7.2 4.4 45.7 0.44 0.38
24
Dallas Cowboys
11.6
 9.5
-1.2
15.0 11.6 10.3 5.6 4.1 40.6 0.44 0.38
25
Washington Commanders
11.3
 9.0
-1.5
14.7 11.3 5.4 6.4 4.2 42.1 0.44 0.56
26
Arizona Cardinals
10.9
 8.5
-1.9
20.1 10.9 11.8 7.5 4.6 50.5 0.19 0.56
27
Miami Dolphins
10.7
 8.2
-2.1
12.3 10.7 14.8 6.5 4.1 47.7 0.25 0.62
28
Indianapolis Colts
10.6
 8.3
-2.2
12.1 10.6 16.7 7.2 4.6 45.0 0.19 0.44
29
New England Patriots
10.5
 8.4
-2.3
10.9 10.5 15.0 6.2 4.3 50.8 0.19 0.75
30
Green Bay Packers
10.4
 8.2
-2.4
12.6 10.4 12.2 6.2 4.2 44.6 0.31 0.38
31
Pittsburgh Steelers
9.2
 7.1
-3.6
11.4 9.2 10.4 7.1 4.0 39.9 0.19 0.44
32
San Francisco 49ers
8.2
 6.4
-4.6
9.9 8.2 8.2 5.4 3.5 31.4 0.25 0.25

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 2020-21 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.

Moving Averages

The 2019-20/G, 2020-21/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 (12.8 FPA for TEs). 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 2020-21 matchups for QBs: Atlanta Falcons (26.1 FPA), Detroit Lions (25.4 FPA), New York Jets (24.0 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to running backs?

Softest 2020-21 matchups for RBs: Houston Texans (33.6 FPA), Detroit Lions (32.5 FPA), Jacksonville Jaguars (30.8 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to wide receivers?

Softest 2020-21 matchups for WRs: Atlanta Falcons (47.5 FPA), Tennessee Titans (45.8 FPA), Detroit Lions (45.7 FPA).

How is this different early in the season?

This is the completed 2020-21 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.