Fantasy Football 2025 Week 1 defense rankings: Broncos reign supreme, Cardinals streaming option

Ranking defenses in fantasy football is largely based off of each NFL team's weekly matchup. The best streaming options each week generally have a history of being productive, but are also playing against an opponent that offers favorable situations for scoring. Here's how the defenses stack up in Week 1 of the 2025 fantasy football season.

Fantasy Football Week 1 defense rankings: Cardinals' ideal streaming value

Week 1 defense rankings

#10 - New York Jets

The New York Jets will face off against their quarterback from last year in Week 1 of the 2025 fantasy football season. Aaron Rodgers is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, creating an interesting grudge match.

#9 - Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams' pass rush exceeded expectations last year and have a good chance to get off to a strong start to the 2025 season. CJ Stroud has been one of the most sacked quarterbacks since entering the NFL.

#8 - Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the most concsistently productive defenses in the NFL in recent years. Their dominant pass rushing style is one of the main reasons why.

#7 - Houston Texans

The Houston Texans defnse has been solid under new head coach DeMeco Ryan across the past two years. Matthew Stafford is prone to turnovers, so their Week 1 matchup with the Rams could be favorable.

#6 - Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders get a strong matchup against the New York Giants based off of their awful offense from last season. They are hoping Russell Wilson helps them turn things around, but there's no guarantee that will happen.

#5 - San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers lost several of their key contributors during the offseason, but still have talent on their roster. The Seattle Seahawks offfense is also going through major changes, so the 49ers are in a good spot to open the new season.

#4 - Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are not a legitimate defense to target from a season-long perspective, but they are one of the best streaming options for Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints. Spencer Rattler is one of the most volatile quarterbacks and they have one of the weakest rosters in the NFL.

#3 - Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the safest floors in fantasy football due to their aggressive blitzing style that often generates plenty of sacks. This should give them an extremely high ceiling in fantasy football against the Chicago Bears as Caleb Williams took the most sack of any player last season.

#2 - Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the most reliable defenses in recent seasons with consistent output. They get a favorable start to 2025 against the Jets and their new look offense with Justin Fields at quarterback.

#1 - Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos led the entire NFL in sacks last season on their way to being the top ranked fantasy football defense. They had no major departures during the offseason, so they should be in good shape to keep it going, esepcially against a rookie quarterback in Week 1.

Rank	Team	Opponent
1	Broncos	Titans
2	Steelers	Jets
3	Vikings	Bears
4	Cardinals	Saints
5	49ers	Seahawks
6	Commanders	Giants
7	Texans	Rams
8	Eagles	Cowboys
9	Rams	Texans
10	Jets	Steelers
11	Buccaneers	Falcons
12	Lions	Packers
13	Dolphins	Colts
14	Packers	Lions
15	Chiefs	Chargers
16	Raiders	Patriots
17	Bears	Vikings
18	Seahawks	49ers
19	Patriots	Raiders
20	Bengals	Browns
21	Colts	Dolphins
22	Jaguars	Panthers
23	Bills	Ravens
24	Giants	Commanders
25	Chargers	Chiefs
26	Cowboys	Eagles
27	Ravens	Bills
28	Titans	Broncos
29	Falcons	Buccaneers
30	Browns	Bengals
31	Panthers	Jaguars
32	Saints	Cardinals