In seemingly every fantasy football draft or auction, at least one owner reaches or overpays for a D/ST. Even in 2023, some will overvalue defense, some will undervalue it, which is why having realistic defense auction value projections on your cheat sheet is important. In auctions, you want to value D/ST but also stay focused on the big picture.
For auctions, the big picture is your budget. Like always, you want to get the most bang for your buck. You don’t want to spend more than $2 on a defense (and even $2 is pushing it). The third dollar in a $3 D/ST bid could be the difference between Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp or Austin Ekeler and Saquon Barkley. That’s to say, an extra dollar matters more in positional bidding than it ever will on D/ST bids.
Elite fantasy defenses rarely ever cross over from one season to the next. Too many variables inevitably exist each year, including injuries, scheduling, coaching, and personnel changes. We'll never be able to predict six or seven of the top 10 teams in D/ST scoring, never mind guess the No. 1 overall squad from one year to the next. Since FantasyPros started keeping track of fantasy stats, no squad has ever been the top-scoring D/ST two seasons in a row.
DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2023 Fantasy Cheat Sheet
New England returned to the top of the defensive class last season with a whopping 186 points, supplanting the Cowboys after their dominant 2021 season. Dallas maintained consistency, though, ranking second with 170 points after its 180-point season two years ago. The 49ers, Bills, and Eagles — the usual suspects — followed suit, but the Jaguars, Chiefs, Panthers, and Jets surprised the world by adding themselves to the top 10 D/ST list. See what we mean? Unpredictability reigns in the land of fantasy defense.
2023 AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR):
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Ks | Overall
Another reason to avoid overspending on a defense: There’s no real positional scarcity to speak of with D/ST. It’s not as if owners clamor to build depth at the position. Most just grab one late in the draft for a buck and utilize the rest of their roster spots for offensive depth. The Pats scored just 0.9 points per game more than the Cowboys last season, while the Cowboys averaged just 2.1 PPG more than the seventh-place Ravens. The per-game difference between No. 7 and No. 17 was a measly 1.1 points.
2023 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Top 200 | S-Flex | IDP
Quite often, the earliest-drafted and most-expensive defenses at the start of the year look vastly different than the final D/ST leaderboard after Week 17. The top six projected defenses two seasons ago — the earliest in snake drafts and most expensive in auctions — all failed to finish in the top six in D/ST scoring.
2023 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Top 200 | S-Flex | IDP
Regardless of your season-long D/ST game plan, it should all start with not overpaying in your auction. It's always easier (and cheaper) to replace a defense during the season than it is to find or replace a stud RB or WR. So, while you don't want to leave defense out of your draft-day plan entirely, you also want to understand that D/ST is just a tiny microcosm of your team's big picture going into your auction.
2023 FANTASY SLEEPERS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Each Team
We'll update these D/ST auction values until Week 1, so check back for updates.
2023 POSITION TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST
To get customized dollar values tailored to your league settings, check out FantasyPros' premium Auction Calculator. For customized mock auctions that you can do in minutes, check out FantasyPros' premium Salary Cap Simulator.
Fantasy Football Defense Auction Values 2023: D/ST dollar projections
Dollar values courtesy of FantasyPros and based on 12-team leagues with $200 budgets.
All D/STs not listed are valued at $0
Rank Defense Proj. Value
1. Philadelphia Eagles $1
2. Dallas Cowboys $1
3. New England Patriots $1
4. Pittsburgh Steelers $1
5. Cleveland Browns $1
6. Kansas City Chiefs $1
7. San Francisco 49ers $1
8. Miami Dolphins $1
9. Washington Commanders $1
10. New Orleans Saints $1
11. Indianapolis Colts $1
12. Buffalo Bills $1
For full D/ST rankings, click here.
