2026 Fantasy Football Week 8 Defense (DST) Rankings and Streamers

It was not the best Sunday for our rankings but not an awful one. Five of my top 10 defenses finished in the top 10, which is right about where a coin flip lands you; however, we did get 10 of the top 16 right, which was better than the FantasyPros consensus. The biggest misses for me were the Panthers, ranked 8th, finished 26th; the Jets, ranked 3rd, finished 20th; and the Texans, ranked 2nd, finished 16th. Those were all defenses that were ranked higher than they might normally be because of their matchup. It’s another reminder that we may not want to overweigh a good matchup on paper.

Meanwhile, the Bucs, who I ranked 18th, led the league with 25 points, and the Falcons, who I ranked 23rd, finished 2nd with 11. The Bucs game feels like a bit of a fluke. Defensive touchdowns are always flukey, but the Panthers had also been a really good offense coming into that game. The 49ers, on the other hand, turned the ball over four times. It was a performance I probably should have seen coming because of their injuries, but we didn’t know Christian McCaffrey would get banged up in this one either.

At the end of the day, I think my injury credit in my model was too generous, since it stacked players who were ruled out on top of one another without limit. That caused some matchups to be over-inflated based on injuries. I replaced it with a capped scale that separates tiers based on whether the injured players are reservers, starters, or studs, and tops out at 5 points that can be added to a defense’s score for the week. I think that should prevent some of these weeks where a bad defense moves up too high because of injuries to their opponent.

2026 SEASON SUCCESS RATE

*Consensus Rankings are taken from FantasyPros Consensus Rankings around 10 am on Sundays. For Week 1 only this season, I used a combination of ClutchPoints and RotoBaller.

BOD Formula and Philosophy

If you’ve read my earlier articles, then you know that I value defenses that get pressure on the quarterback and create turnover opportunities, which is likely what most people value. However, that means I look at underlying metrics and try to value the quality of the defense over simply saying, “Who is playing a bad offense?” Yet, when I did a deep dive this offseason, I discovered that the stats most commonly associated with top-10 fantasy defenses were first-down allowed, points per game allowed, and third-down conversion rate allowed. So even though I love defenses who get pressure, defenses who can also get off the field quickly tend to be the best fantasy defenses. Perhaps this isn’t a shock, but maybe we’re not really paying attention to the relevant stats when predicting fantasy defensive performance.

The next four most predictive defensive stats were pressure rate, passes defended, turnover rate, and explosive play rate allowed (plays over 20+ yards). With that in mind, I decided to update my Best Overall Defense (BOD) formula to include just these seven stats. I doubled the weight of the first three stats, which are more predictive, and have a single weight for the other four stats. I also incorporate Vegas’ implied team total in the algorithm every week, and when we get opponent stats, I will include fantasy points allowed to opposing defenses as part of the equation since fantasy points are the strongest predictor of fantasy points.

I’ll obviously have to adjust the algorithm each week for injuries or weather, but I try not to rely too much on “gut feel” or concerns about wind, etc.

With that out of the way, onto the rankings.

FOR A MORE DETAILED DISCUSSION OF DST PLAYS FOR THIS WEEK, CHECK OUT ERIC’S PICK 3(DST) VIDEO OVER ON THE NFL ON NBC YOUTUBE PAGE.

The Steelers face a Browns offense with the second-lowest implied total of the week at 18 points. The Browns also have the highest sack rate allowed in the league and are missing right guard Teven Jenkins. Pittsburgh is tied for 4th in explosive-play rate allowed, 5th in points per game allowed, 7th in first downs allowed per game, 7th in third-down conversion rate allowed, and 7th in turnover rate. I know the Steelers are also coming back from a European game, which is not great, but they will be at home, and I expect them to get up for this rivalry game.

We picked on the Dolphins last week with the Jets defense and got burned, but we’re going back to the well with the Patriots here. On the season, New England ranks 8th in first downs allowed, 9th in points per game allowed, and 9th in pressure rate. The Patriots should also get Carlton Davis III back this week as well as some other depth pieces in the secondary, which is a nice boost. Despite Miami beating the Jets last week, this is still a good matchup. The Dolphins have an implied team total of just 18.5; their offense ranks 19^th in the league in turnover rate and 28^th in sack rate allowed. That gives the Patriots defense a few avenues to put up fantasy points.

The Jaguars have let us down a bunch as a top-tier defense, but I continue to believe that this is a solid unit. On the season, they are 3rd in points per game allowed, 3rd in turnover rate, 8th in pressure rate, and 8th in third-down conversion rate. They are also going up against an Indianapolis team that has an implied team total of 19.5 and could be missing tight end Tyler Warren in addition to receiver Alec Pierce. The Colts have been a good matchup for fantasy defenses since they rank 22nd in sack rate allowed and 29th in turnover rate, so I’m comfortable rolling with the Jaguars off a bye.

The Chargers are arguably the best matchup on the board. They carry an implied total of just 19 points, allow the 2nd-highest sack rate in the NFL, and have the league’s highest turnover rate. Their offensive line is also depleted, with Joe Alt, Rashawn Slater, Kayode Awosika, Trevor Penning and Trey Pipkins all injured and Ladd McConkey also banged up. Now, the bye week could help some of those guys come back, so that’s something to keep an eye on, but this is an offense in trouble. The Rams are 5th in third-down conversion rate, 7th in explosive-play rate allowed, and 9th in first downs allowed per game. Their own turnover rate is 27th, and Myles Garrett, Kobie Turner, and Poona Ford are out, but I still trust the Rams here.

The Bengals find themselves in a good spot this weekend. They are 4th in fantasy points per game over the last six weeks at 7.4 points, and, on the season, they are tied for 5th in turnover rate and 8th in points per game allowed. The Bengals have some issues giving up explosive plays, but I don’t think this Titans offense is that explosive and Cam Ward is not connecting on many big shots down the field. Tennessee is implied for just 18.25 points in this one, and they rank 13th in sack rate allowed, 21st in turnover rate, and 31^st in points per game, so even if they’re a slightly better offense than we expected, they’re still a below-average one.

This is mostly about the Seahawks’ defense, not the matchup. I think there comes a point where you need to trust an elite defense, even in a tough matchup against the Bears. On the year, Seattle is 2nd in third-down conversion rate, 2^nd in first downs allowed, 2^nd in pressure rate, 2^nd in explosive-play rate allowed, and 4th in points per game allowed. Yes, the Bears have an implied team total of 25 points and are a good offense, but the Seahawks still could put up 6-7 fantasy points here and get into the top 10.

Much like the Seahawks, there comes a time where you just have to rank an elite defense above a streamer-type of defense. The Vikings have the toughest matchup of any top defense, but they are the best defense in fantasy football. The Lions have the 5th-best turnover rate in the league, rank 14th in sack rate allowed, and have a 24.75 implied total. The Vikings’ own numbers are still elite though. They are 1st in points per game allowed, 1st in first downs allowed, 1st in pressure rate, 1st in fantasy points per game over the last six weeks, 2nd in turnover rate, 3rd in explosive-play rate allowed, and 3rd in third-down conversion rate. That’s not a defense you put outside of the top 10.

The Chiefs defense didn’t deliver against the Seahawks this week, but this matchup is a bit easier. Denver’s implied team total is just 20 points, which is the 7th-lowest on the slate. The issue is that the Broncos’ offense is 9th in sack rate allowed and also doesn’t allow many turnovers. Since Kansas City is 2nd in points allowed, your hope here is that the Chiefs keep this low scoring and then use their defensive skills (5th in turnover rate and 8th in explosive-play rate allowed) to pick up a few extra fantasy points on top of the low-scoring output.

This is all about the Commanders’ matchup, since they have no top-10 stats on my model. They are 12th in turnover rate, which is solid, but they’re 25th in third-down conversion rate and 31st in points per game allowed. They are coming off a bye, with two weeks to prepare for a really banged-up Eagles offense. The Eagles have the 4th-lowest implied total and ranked 24th in sack rate allowed, which has only increased with Tanner McKee replacing Jalen Hurts. Left tackle Lane Johnson has retired, DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks are injured, and Saquon Barkley hurt himself again on Monday night. I don’t love this play, but I can understand it.

The Browns should be in another rock fight. Cleveland is tied for 5th in fantasy points per game over the last six weeks, tied for 5th in pressure rate on the season, and tied for 10th in first downs allowed per game. They got Mason Graham back last week, which is a nice boost, and Pittsburgh is implied for 21.5 points this week, which is pretty middle of the pack. The Steelers are missing receivers Michael Pittman, Ben Skowronek, and Roman Wilson and rank 25th in sack rate allowed, which should give the Browns some avenues to fantasy success.

This is a ranking that could hinge on injury updates. The Chiefs could be without Rashee Rice, Tyquan Thornton, Josh Simmons, and Jaylon Moore. The Broncos could be without
cornerback Pat Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga. Some of those guys could come back. We need to monitor the practice reports because those are some big names. Denver is 2nd in fantasy points per game over the last six weeks, and, on the season, they rank 4th in pressure rate and 7th in points per game allowed. Kansas City is implied for 21.5 points, but they rank 6th in sack rate allowed and 8th in turnover rate, so they’re not really giving fantasy defenses many free points.

Green Bay is 1st in turnover rate, tied for 4th in explosive-play rate allowed, tied for 5th in fantasy points per game over the last six weeks, and 11th in points per game allowed on the season. That’s a profile of a solid defense going up against an offense that has mostly been pretty good. Carolina is implied for 22 points this week, but they did lose tackle Taylor Moton to a serious injury. The Panthers rank 20th in sack rate allowed even before the Moton injury, so that could give the Packers a path to getting pressure on Bryce Young and forcing turnovers like Tampa Bay did last week. However, Green Bay is 23rd in pressure rate because Micah Parsons, Edgerrin Cooper, and Javon Hargrave are all out.

Las Vegas is 4th in turnover rate, and 17th in pressure rate, so this is not a really good defense. They are also 29th in first downs allowed and 29th in points per game allowed. Yet, the Jets have an implied team total of just 22 and rank 27th in sack rate allowed. The Dolphins were able to force Geno Smith into some bad throws, and the Raiders are likely going to score on the Jets defense, which will create a shoot-out atmosphere that tends to lead the Jets to take sacks or give the ball away. That could make the Raiders interesting this week.

Both Atlanta and Tampa Bay could be in play this week. Atlanta’s defense is 3rd in pressure rate, 11th in explosive-play rate allowed, and tied for 12th in fantasy points per game over the last six weeks. Tampa Bay’s offense is implied for 24.5 points, ranks 27th in turnover rate, and 29th in sack rate allowed, and could be without receiver Emeka Egbuka. Those are pretty nice indicators for the Falcons. Meanwhile, the Bucs defense ranks 4th in first downs allowed, 8th in turnover rate, and 9th in third-down conversion rate allowed. Atlanta’s offense is implied for 22 points, and the Falcons rank tied for 24th in sack rate allowed and 26th in turnover rate, so both of these offenses have weaknesses that a defense could exploit.

Chicago does some things well that my model likes, but there are some real concerns here. Chicago is 1st in third-down conversion rate and 3rd in first downs allowed, so they do a good job of getting off the field. However, part of the reason those numbers are so high is that the Bears are also 31^st in explosive play rate allowed, so you’re not allowing first downs or third-down conversions when you’re just giving up massive chunk plays and long touchdowns. Yes, the Bears are tied for 5th in pressure rate, which can lead to fantasy production, but Seattle is looking better on offense and should get Zach Charbonnet back in a part-time role this weekend. They also have an implied team total of 25 points. What you’re banking on here is that the Seahawks are 28^th in turnover rate, but the Bears defense is just 18^th in turnover rate, so I’m not sure they’re as positioned to take advantage of that weakness as other teams are.

Defenses ranked this low may be intriguing, but I can’t consider playing them outside of the deepest formats.

The Jets are 6th in explosive-play rate allowed, 12th in third-down conversion rate, and 13th in points per game allowed. But Las Vegas is implied for 23.5 points, and the Raiders rank 7th in sack rate allowed, so this is a hard offense to pressure. It’s not a play I love.

The Chargers are 6th in third-down conversion rate, and 11th in turnover rate, but 22nd in points per game allowed. Even though the Chargers are coming off a be and the Rams are banged up, the Rams are implied for 25.5 points, even without receiver Davante Adams and tight end Terrance Ferguson. The Rams rank 8th in sack rate allowed, and the Chargers could be without safety Derwin James and cornerback Donte Jackson, which makes it hard to love this play.

The Commanders are battling a few injuries, but it’s hard to get excited about using this Eagles defense. Philadelphia is 19th in third-down conversion rate, 21st in points per game allowed, tied for 31st in turnover rate, and 31st in fantasy points per game over the last six weeks. Washington, even without Terry McLaurin, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and running back Bill Croskey-Merritt, has an implied team total of 22.5 points. The Commanders rank 17th in sack rate allowed but have the 6th-best turnover rate in the NFL, which makes it hard to target them coming off a bye.

As always, I can’t recommend playing any defense that you see here in Tier 5.