Best defense for fantasy football 2023: Ranking top 5 lockdown teams

Defense is completely different from offense when it comes to scoring formats in the majority of Fantasy Football leagues. While just about every format features fantasy rosters made up of different offensive players from each position, excluding offensive linemen, defense is usually provided by owning an entire NFL team's defensive units.

Rather than owning specific players, which some leagues do, most of them generate fantasy scoring by the totality of an NFL team's defensive statistics. This often includes sacks, turnovers, safeties, limiting points, and defensive touchdowns, among other things.

The best NFL defenses are often similar to the top fantasy defenses, but the best fantasy managers will target units that generate the most turnovers and scoring opportunities.

Here are the five projected top-ranked defensive teams to look out for in the 2023 Fantasy Football season.

Top defense for fantasy football 2023: Ranking top 5 projected top-ranked units

#5 - Buffalo Bills

Jordan Poyer

The Buffalo Bills have been one of the most consistent fantasy defenses in recent years. They've finished inside the top ten in fantasy points in each of the past four seasons, including fourth-place finishes in each of the last two years.

They are returning nearly their entire defensive roster from last year, so there's good reason to believe they will finish towards the top once again as long as they can overcome the absence of defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

#4 - New England Patriots

Bill Belichick looking to mastermind Patriots resurgence

The New England Patriots were the highest-scoring defensive unit during the last Fantasy Football season after finishing in second place the year before.

As long as Bill Belichick is head coach, they will likely always be solid on this side of the football.

They dominated the rest of the contenders last season with an NFL-high seven defensive touchdowns. That will be difficult to repeat this year, but you can count on the Patriots to be defensively reliable.

#3 - Philadelphia Eagles

Jonathan Gannon

The Philadelphia Eagles had a historically strong season rushing opposing passers last year, including recording an impressive 70 sacks. It will be interesting to see how the departure of defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, may impact their pass rush.

They also lost defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Detroit Lions after he led the NFL with six interceptions last year. Despite the changes to their defense, the Eagles should still rank towards the top in fantasy.

#2 - San Francisco 49ers

49ers Nick Bosa

Rushing the passer has been the identity of the San Francisco 49ers in recent years. Nick Bosa is a big reason why, recording 51 career sacks despite only playing in 60 total games.

They will have to overcome another change to their defensive coordinator after DeMeco Ryan took the head coaching job for the Houston Texans. They experienced a similar transition when Robert Saleh departed for the New York Jets.

The 49ers' defense didn't really miss a beat when Saleh left, though, so that's something to keep an eye on.

#1 - Dallas Cowboys

Micah Parsons

The Dallas Cowboys have finished as a top-two fantasy defense in each year since selecting Micah Parsons in the 2021 NFL Draft. They also made a major upgrade by acquiring former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore to join Trevon Diggs in their secondary.

Their projected combination of sacks and interceptions should keep them towards the very top of the 2023 Fantasy Football defensive rankings.