2021 Fantasy Football draft rankings: Defenses

Yahoo Sports

13 August 2021 at 12:58 pm·1-min read

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald — Aaron Donald and the Rams are our consensus top fantasy DST for 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

There are usually three schools of thought when it comes to drafting defense in fantasy football.

One side looks to grab one of the top five DSTs available, usually a unit that you'll never have to sit all season (save for bye weeks, of course).

[2021 Draft Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DST | Kickers]

Another side waits a bit longer to grab a defense that might be middle of the pack or bottom-barrel at season start but has the potential to finish as a top unit (think last season's Buccaneers).

And finally, we have a very common group who looks at taking a defense in one of the last two rounds and is open to hitting the waiver and streaming week in and week out to fill the roster spot.

Which group do you fall into? Will you be targeting the Rams DST early? Do the Broncos a bit later fit your bill? Or maybe you're content with wrapping your team up with, say, the Cardinals defense, knowing full well you might drop them ahead of Week 1.

Whatever school of thought you fit into, our analysts will help you prepare with their DST draft rankings for 2021, and don't forget to join or sign up for a fantasy football league now!