Defenses win championships, right? That is what they say. I believe the sentiment is undervalued by the consensus. However, it does not win championships. A smart overall strategy finds the gold. After crafting your perfect team, draft an elite defense late and at value. Here are my 2026 D/ST Rankings to aid in that matter. Tier 1 — The Finest1. Houston Texans2. Seattle Seahawks3. Denver Broncos4. Los Angeles Rams5. Pittsburgh SteelersThese teams are of the highest caliber. They are schedule-proof. At will, these teams can get turnovers and sacks. Watch out for fan sentiment toward the Rams' defense. People will indulge in the name value of Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald. As good as they are, do not make the Rams among the top-2 D/ST picks off the board. Tier 2 — Can't Go Wrong6. Baltimore Ravens7. Philadelphia Eagles8. Detroit Lions9. New England Patriots10. Los Angeles ChargersOn paper, these four teams are elite. The Ravens bring in defensive wizard and Jim Harbaugh graduate, Jesse Minter. The Eagles have an all-time great defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio. They are my favorite picks at the current ADP. Tier 3 — Weekly Streamers11. Minnesota Vikings12. Jacksonville Jaguars13. Buffalo Bills14. Kansas City Chiefs15. Green Bay PackersThese teams have potential, but will depend more heavily on their weekly matchups. When facing low-end NFL teams, they can be auto-starts. When facing the league's best offenses such as the Bills, Rams, or Bengals, they can be sat.Brian Flores is a top-3 defensive mind in football right now. His Vikings lack the firepower from a skill standpoint to be elite. That being said, they are a very high-upside pick on a weekly basis. The Vikings led the NFL in interceptions last season with 21. Tier 4 — Sporadically Worth a Start16. Cleveland Browns17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers18. Indianapolis Colts19. San Francisco 49ers20. Chicago Bears21. Green Bay PackersThe Bears led the NFL in turnovers with 33 in 2025. The FPI rates them outside the top-10 defenses, and they feature a very difficult NFC North schedule. No team is dead here, but they have to show us something, playing against a bad team. They will have top-5 weeks within their outcome ranges. I would not draft any of them.Tier 5 — Rarely Worth Anything22. New Orleans Saints23. Atlanta Falcons24. Carolina Panthers25. Tennessee Titans26. Dallas Cowboys27. New York Giants28. Washington Commanders29. New York JetsMaybe they will show us something. Teams always surprise. No one often drafts a backup defense, so it is rare for more than 12 teams to be selected. Tier 6 — The Graveyard30. Las Vegas Raiders31. Miami Dolphins32. Arizona CardinalsMore Fantasy Sports On SI News:Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow