What defense should I start this week? (Week 3)
The Week 3 expert consensus for team defenses, with each defense's best and worst expert rank and how many leagues it is rostered in — so you can see which top-12 units are likely still available.
Week 3 · 2026 season · Consensus updated September 22 at 12:17 AM EDT
Top-12 defenses likely on your waiver wire
- #3 Kansas City Chiefs· 36% rostered
- #4 Green Bay Packers· 35% rostered
- #9 Carolina Panthers· 7% rostered
- #12 Buffalo Bills· 29% rostered
| # | Defense | Consensus | Best | Worst | ROS # | Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks | 2.0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 97% |
| 2 | Houston Texans | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 94% |
| 3 | Kansas City Chiefslikely available | 3.2 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 36% |
| 4 | Green Bay Packerslikely available | 6.8 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 35% |
| 5 | Philadelphia Eagles | 6.8 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 88% |
| 6 | Los Angeles Rams | 6.8 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 86% |
| 7 | San Francisco 49ers | 6.8 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 59% |
| 8 | Minnesota Vikings | 7.6 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 60% |
| 9 | Carolina Pantherslikely available | 7.6 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 7% |
| 10 | New England Patriots | 12.2 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 78% |
| 11 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 13.4 | 9 | 25 | 18 | 61% |
| 12 | Buffalo Billslikely available | 13.6 | 8 | 18 | 15 | 29% |
| 13 | Denver Broncos | 13.8 | 6 | 22 | 3 | 91% |
| 14 | Detroit Lionslikely available | 14.2 | 12 | 21 | 16 | 48% |
| 15 | New Orleans Saintslikely available | 15.4 | 3 | 21 | 19 | 17% |
| 16 | Baltimore Ravens | 16.2 | 14 | 21 | 10 | 69% |
Expert consensus and ownership data via FantasyPros · rostered % is the ESPN + Yahoo average
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
- What defense should I start in Week 3?
- Start the highest-ranked defense you have on the consensus board above, and if yours ranks outside the top 12, stream: the table flags the top-12 units rostered in half of leagues or fewer — those are the ones likely sitting on your waiver wire.
- Is it worth streaming defenses every week?
- Usually yes. Defense scoring is driven by matchup (sacks, turnovers, points allowed) more than by the unit's talent, so the consensus reshuffles every week and a mid-tier unit with a great matchup often outscores an elite one with a bad one. Rostering two defenses is rarely worth the bench spot; picking up the best available each week is.
- How is this list built?
- It is the FantasyPros weekly expert consensus for DST — the average rank across contributing experts — with each unit's best and worst expert rank, its rest-of-season rank, and the share of ESPN and Yahoo leagues where it is rostered. Nothing here is a projection of ours.