NFL Defense vs Position Rankings 2025-26

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

Completed 2025-26 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 Cincinnati Bengals 21.6 FPA
#2 Arizona Cardinals 17.0 FPA
#3 Pittsburgh Steelers 16.8 FPA

Toughest TE Matchups (Fewest Points Allowed)

#32 Buffalo Bills 7.6 FPA
#31 Philadelphia Eagles 8.3 FPA
#30 Las Vegas Raiders 10.1 FPA
Rank Team DK FPA FD FPA vs Avg 2024-25/G 2025-26/G L4 Targets Rec Rec Yds Rec TD 20+ Rec Trend
1
Cincinnati Bengals
21.6
 17.6
+8.1
16.3 21.6 10.7 9.7 6.8 84.9 0.94 1.18
2
Arizona Cardinals
17.0
 13.8
+3.5
9.7 17.0 25.0 8.4 6.3 68.6 0.65 0.82
3
Pittsburgh Steelers
16.8
 13.5
+3.3
13.8 16.8 18.8 8.5 6.2 65.9 0.65 0.71
4
Miami Dolphins
16.7
 13.4
+3.2
13.5 16.7 17.4 8.2 6.4 66.7 0.47 0.94
5
Indianapolis Colts
16.1
 12.6
+2.6
15.3 16.1 14.6 8.7 6.3 71.9 0.35 0.82
6
Washington Commanders
16.1
 13.4
+2.6
11.2 16.1 15.3 6.7 5.1 61.1 0.71 0.76
7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16.0
 12.9
+2.5
14.0 16.0 25.4 7.7 5.9 57.0 0.71 0.35
8
New York Jets
15.3
 12.4
+1.8
10.3 15.3 23.0 7.6 5.6 55.8 0.59 0.53
9
San Francisco 49ers
15.1
 11.9
+1.6
9.7 15.1 16.9 8.6 5.8 56.9 0.59 0.53
10
Jacksonville Jaguars
15.0
 11.7
+1.5
14.1 15.0 10.0 8.7 6.1 59.1 0.47 0.65
11
Seattle Seahawks
14.9
 11.7
+1.4
11.6 14.9 9.5 8.5 6.2 63.5 0.35 1.00
12
Tennessee Titans
14.3
 11.5
+0.8
9.5 14.3 17.1 7.1 5.4 55.7 0.53 0.65
13
New England Patriots
14.2
 11.0
+0.7
12.3 14.2 12.1 7.9 5.7 57.1 0.35 0.65
14
Denver Broncos
13.8
 10.9
+0.3
12.4 13.8 11.9 8.4 5.6 59.7 0.35 0.59
15
Detroit Lions
13.8
 11.1
+0.3
9.2 13.8 19.7 7.7 5.2 54.8 0.47 0.59
16
Carolina Panthers
13.7
 11.2
+0.2
14.3 13.7 12.0 6.8 5.1 59.9 0.41 0.82
17
Chicago Bears
13.1
 10.2
-0.4
13.1 13.1 10.0 7.4 5.8 51.5 0.35 0.65
18
Los Angeles Rams
13.1
 10.4
-0.4
14.4 13.1 12.4 7.5 5.4 45.6 0.41 0.41
19
Cleveland Browns
12.8
 10.2
-0.7
10.5 12.8 13.3 7.1 5.1 52.2 0.29 0.53
20
Houston Texans
12.6
 9.7
-0.9
11.2 12.6 22.2 7.2 5.1 45.6 0.47 0.47
21
New Orleans Saints
12.5
 9.9
-1.0
11.3 12.5 11.7 7.4 5.2 51.1 0.35 0.53
22
Dallas Cowboys
12.3
 9.7
-1.2
10.2 12.3 9.7 6.8 5.3 51.7 0.29 0.41
23
Green Bay Packers
12.1
 9.3
-1.4
13.4 12.1 8.4 7.5 5.5 44.6 0.35 0.29
24
New York Giants
11.5
 8.9
-2.0
8.6 11.5 9.8 6.7 4.8 47.5 0.29 0.59
25
Baltimore Ravens
11.4
 8.9
-2.1
12.7 11.4 12.4 6.6 4.9 46.7 0.24 0.53
26
Kansas City Chiefs
11.2
 8.6
-2.3
15.9 11.2 11.9 6.0 4.8 47.6 0.24 0.65
27
Minnesota Vikings
10.7
 8.5
-2.8
11.4 10.7 2.5 6.5 4.4 42.3 0.35 0.35
28
Los Angeles Chargers
10.5
 8.4
-3.0
9.7 10.5 7.8 5.6 4.1 42.2 0.35 0.35
29
Atlanta Falcons
10.3
 8.1
-3.2
10.7 10.3 17.4 6.2 4.2 48.0 0.18 0.65
30
Las Vegas Raiders
10.1
 8.0
-3.4
16.0 10.1 14.2 5.7 4.1 38.6 0.35 0.41
31
Philadelphia Eagles
8.3
 6.4
-5.2
9.6 8.3 7.5 6.2 3.9 29.9 0.24 0.24
32
Buffalo Bills
7.6
 6.2
-5.9
12.4 7.6 8.4 4.5 2.7 29.6 0.24 0.41

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 2025-26 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.

Moving Averages

The 2024-25/G, 2025-26/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 (13.5 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 2025-26 matchups for QBs: Dallas Cowboys (24.5 FPA), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (21.3 FPA), Washington Commanders (20.9 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to running backs?

Softest 2025-26 matchups for RBs: Cincinnati Bengals (29.4 FPA), New York Jets (28.7 FPA), Arizona Cardinals (27.0 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to wide receivers?

Softest 2025-26 matchups for WRs: Dallas Cowboys (40.0 FPA), Indianapolis Colts (37.3 FPA), Baltimore Ravens (37.2 FPA).

How is this different early in the season?

This is the completed 2025-26 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.