When it comes to building a winning fantasy football team, one of the key strategic decisions revolves around the defensive position. Should you invest in a top-tier defense like the Baltimore Ravens, or adopt a streaming strategy to maximize flexibility each week? While drafting a dominant defense like the Ravens, who are the highest-ranked defense according to ADP, can bring significant weekly points, even the best defenses face challenging matchups. The Ravens, for instance, share a division with the high-powered Cincinnati Bengals and have tough games against the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Eagles.

Opting for a top defense might seem like a no-brainer, but it comes with hidden costs. To navigate these tough matchups, you would need to hold an additional roster spot for streaming another defense, potentially hampering your team’s depth. This can be detrimental over the long season, as it limits your ability to capitalize on hot waiver wire pickups. The flexibility of streaming defenses allows you to tailor your defensive matchups each week without being pigeonholed into playing a dominant but occasionally vulnerable unit. Choosing to stream defenses can provide you with a strategic edge, freeing up roster spots and ensuring you are not missing out on crucial additions to your team.

Before we dive in, let’s look at the top three defenses drafted and who was taken directly after them in average ADP:

San Francisco 49ers (86.3 ADP/Finished as DST 7)

1. Jahan Dotson
2. Evan Engram
3. Jordan Addison
4. Deshaun Watson
5. AJ Dillon

Dallas Cowboys (91.7 ADP/Finished as DST 2)

1. Khalil Herbert
2. Dak Prescott
3. Brian Robinson Jr.
4. Pat Freiermuth
5. Zay Flowers

Philadelphia Eagles (99.0 ADP/Finished as DST 26)

1. Gabe Davis
2. Kirk Cousins
3. Anthony Richardson
4. David Njoku
5. Courtland Sutton

Besides Engram, Addison, Flowers, and Sutton, the names listed above don’t exactly spell regret if you spent an early pick on a defense. However, consider the following names who were drafted later: Raheem Mostert, Dalton Kincaid, Kyren Williams, De’Von Achane, Puka Nacua, Romeo Doubs, Nico Collins, Jakobi Meyers, Jordan Love, and Sam LaPorta. These are the players you missed out on while drafting a top-tier defense with one of your mid-round picks. The only defense to deliver on their ADP was the Dallas Cowboys, but even they didn’t achieve a fraction of what the late-round fliers like Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, and Nico Collins accomplished. Despite how dominant Baltimore and Dallas were last season, the gap between the DST1 and DST2 was only 31 total fantasy points. That’s it.

Let’s take a look at current ADP of the top five defenses for this upcoming season:

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