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Top 12 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 4

By Jason Schandl

Los Angeles Chargers v Detroit Lions
Los Angeles Chargers v Detroit Lions / Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
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If you had any doubts about the importance of defensive scoring in fantasy football, the start of the 2019 season should already have cleared those up. Pending Week 3's "Monday Night Football" game, a defense (the New England Patriots) ranks 11th in standard scoring fantasy football points. Another (the San Francisco 49ers) sits 38th.

Defensive production can be volatile though, and the top unit for a given week can depend heavily on the matchups each defense draws. With that in mind, here are our top 12 fantasy football defenses for Week 4 of the 2019 NFL season.

12. Minnesota Vikings (at Chicago Bears)

The lone underdog on the list, the Minnesota Vikings are only three-point underdogs on the road, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and this game has a small over/under of only 39 points. Pending "Monday Night Football" in Week 3, the Vikes' defense is tied for eighth in the NFL in fantasy production in 2019, and they haven't scored fewer than six fantasy points in any of their three games. Mitch Trubisky has yet to complete 60 percent of his passes in either of his first two games this season, and he's not much of a threat to produce against a defense this strong.

11. Green Bay Packers (vs Philadelphia Eagles)

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs Cincinnati Bengals)

9. Dallas Cowboys (at New Orleans Saints)

Playing defenses against the New Orleans Saints is not something that's made sense in fantasy for a long time, but that all changes with Teddy Bridgewater starting in place of Drew Brees. Bridgewater was efficient in his first start of the year in Week 3, but his career TD-to-INT ratio isn't anything to write home about, with 31 scores and 23 picks. Coming off a 12-point fantasy performance in Week 3, the Cowboys' defense is back on the road, but Dallas is still favored by 2.5 points.

8. Denver Broncos (vs Jacksonville Jaguars)

7. Chicago Bears (vs Minnesota Vikings)

6. Kansas City Chiefs (at Detroit Lions)

5. Indianapolis Colts (vs Oakland Raiders)

4. Baltimore Ravens (vs Cleveland Browns)

3. Los Angeles Rams (vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

The Los Angeles Rams rank top-10 with 26 fantasy points on the season, and they've been highly consistent with no fewer than eight points in any of their three games. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense has allowed at least five fantasy points to all three defenses they've played, even though their three games have included soft defensive matchups against the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.

2. New England Patriots (at Buffalo Bills)

1. Los Angeles Chargers (at Miami Dolphins)

You're not going to find a more predictable ranking than this one. The Miami Dolphins remain the most obvious team to attack with an opposing fantasy defense, allowing three of the 16 highest single-game fantasy scores to the position so far in 2019. The Chargers are by far the biggest favorites (16.5 points) on the slate.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.