Fantasy Football Week 10 Defense Rankings: Saints Must-Start? Dolphins Risky Play?

Getty Malcolm Jenkins #27 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates intercepting a pass during the third quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Welcome to our Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 10 of the 2020 NFL regular season. The New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens each dominated their opponents a week ago, finishing Week 9 as the DEF1 and DEF2, respectively. While the Miami Dolphins may have fallen a tad short of their recent output, they continued their elongated run of top-10 finishes. Are all these units must-starts heading into Week 10? Let’s take a look.

* If you’re looking for more information on how to best set your lineup this coming week check out our Week 10 Defense Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em. 

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Defense Outlook Week 10

Ravens (DEF1) topped 13.0 points in Week 9, the fourth such occurrence for Baltimore this season. Their 14 takeaways in 2020 are tied for third-most in NFL. Their opponents in Week 10, the Patriots, have turned the ball over 15 times this year, tied for fourth-most in NFL.

Saints (DEF3) absolutely dominated Tom Brady and company this past Sunday night. Over their last two games, they’ve now averaged 11.5 points, thanks in large part to eight sacks and four interceptions over that span. In Week 10 they get a plus-matchup against an injury-riddled 49ers team led by backup quarterback Nick Mullens.

Since Week 3, the Dolphins (DEF8) have totaled a unit-high 73.0 fantasy points. Over that span, they’ve outscored the likes of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Ezekiel Elliott in standard-scoring formats, just to name a few.

This week’s matchup is certainly not the most welcoming. The Chargers have allowed just one opposing D/ST to top 6.0 points against them this season. Over their last four games, defenses average just 4.25 points against the Bolts. With that said, Miami has scored at least 8.0 points in five of their last six games, demonstrating an above-average floor to go alongside their sky-high ceiling.

Week 10 Fantasy Rankings: Defense

1. 1. Rankings
   2. [QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEF | Ks]
   3. Start-Sit
   4. [QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEF | Ks]
   • Matchup: Great l Avg l Tough

1. – D/ST BYE WEEKS: Falcons DEF (ATL), Cowboys DEF (DAL), Chiefs DEF (KC), Jets DEF (NYJ)

2. #	Defense TEAM	Opp.
   1	Baltimore Ravens BAL	@ NE
   2	Pittsburgh Steelers PIT	vs. CIN
   3	New Orleans Saints NO	vs. SF
   4	Philadelphia Eagles PHI	@ NYG
   5	New York Giants NYG	vs. PHI
   6	Green Bay Packers GB	vs. JAC
   7	Los Angeles Rams LAR	vs. SEA
   8	Miami Dolphins MIA	vs. LAC
   9	Washington Football Team WAS	@ DET
   10	Chicago Bears CHI	vs. MIN
   11	Tennessee Titans TEN	vs. IND
   12	Las Vegas Raiders LV	vs. DEN
   13	Detroit Lions DET	vs. WAS
   14	Los Angeles Chargers LAC	@ MIA
   15	Arizona Cardinals ARI	vs. BUF
   16	Carolina Panthers CAR	vs. TB
   17	Minnesota Vikings MIN	@ CHI
   18	Seattle Seahawks SEA	@ LAR
   19	Indianapolis Colts IND	@ TEN
   20	Cincinnati Bengals CIN	@ PIT
   21	Cleveland Browns CLE	vs. HOU
   22	Tampa Bay Buccaneers TB	@ CAR
   23	Denver Broncos DEN	@ LV
   24	Houston Texans HOU	@ CLE
   25	San Francisco 49ers SF	@ NO
   26	Buffalo Bills BUF	@ ARI
   27	New England Patriots NE	vs. BAL
   28	Jacksonville Jaguars JAC	@ GB

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