NFL Playoffs Rankings & Tiers: Defenses (2023 Fantasy Football)

Maybe you aren’t ready to be done with fantasy football yet and have joined a playoff league. A lot of the playoff formats use cumulative scoring, so it’s not just about picking good players — it’s about picking good players who are going to play multiple games.

In a season-long fantasy league, you’d never pick Gabe Davis ahead of Tyreek Hill, who’s a far superior player. In a playoff fantasy league, it might be worth taking Davis ahead of Hill because the Bills are expected to play at least two playoff games and perhaps as many as four, while Hill’s Dolphins are double-digit underdogs this weekend and will probably only play one game.

Here are my tiered positional rankings for cumulative playoff leagues. And here’s a closer look at Defenses.

Check out our consensus rankings for the Wild Card Round and full 2023 NFL Playoffs

Fitz’s NFL Playoffs Rankings & Tiers: Defenses (2023 Fantasy Football)

Tier 1

San Francisco 49ers

Buffalo Bills

Tier 2

Philadelphia Eagles

Kansas City Chiefs

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Tier 3

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minnesota Vikings

Los Angeles Chargers

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Baltimore Ravens

Tier 4

Miami Dolphins

Seattle Seahawks

Why are the 49ers and Bills a cut above? Because they’re great bets to play two or more games. The 49ers will most likely play at least three games. With first-round byes, the Chiefs and Eagles can play a maximum of three games — the 49ers and Bills could conceivably play four.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.