Week 1 Fantasy Football Defensive Matchups by Position

Regardless of how high you drafted them, every player is going to run into tough matchups. It’s not just defense that’s important but how they perform against specific positions – for our needs, in terms of fantasy points allowed. A quarterback is much more likely to have a top-10 finish against New Orleans or Buffalo than the Seahawks or Bears and it might be the most important consideration in choosing your starters each week. Let’s take a look at how each defense performs against each position in this week’s matchups. Since no one has given up any fantasy points yet, we’ll have to make do with last season’s fantasy points allowed ranks this week.

Match-Up: Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos

Helps: –

Hurts: Peyton Manning, Julius Thomas, Joel Dreessen, Jacob Tamme

Helps: Ed Dickson, Dallas Clark

Hurts: Ray Rice, Bernard Pierce, Joe Flacco, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, Brandon Stokley

Match-Up: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills

Helps: E.J. Manuel, Steve Johnson, Robert Woods, T.J. Graham, Scott Chandler

Hurts: C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson

Helps: Tom Brady, Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen

Hurts: –

Match-Up: Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears

Helps: –

Hurts: Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery

Helps: –

Hurts: Andy Dalton, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Giovani Bernard, A.J. Green, Brandon Tate, Mohamed Sanu, Jermaine Gresham, Tyler Eifert

Match-Up: Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns

Helps: –

Hurts: –

Helps: Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas, Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson

Hurts: Whoever plays tight end.

Match-Up: Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

Helps: Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, Ryan Broyles, Brandon Pettigrew

Hurts: Reggie Bush, Joique Bell, Mikel Leshoure

Helps: Greg Jennings, Jerome Simpson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kyle Rudolph

Hurts: –

Match-Up: Oakland Raiders at Indianapolis Colts

Helps: Andrew Luck, Vick Ballard, Ahmad Bradshaw, Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen

Hurts: –

Helps: Darren McFadden, Rashad Jennings, Denarius Moore, Rod Streater

Hurts: Whoever plays tight end.

Match-Up: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

Helps: Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram

Hurts: Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Kenny Stills, Nick Toon

Helps: Matt Ryan, Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Harry Douglas, Tony Gonzalez

Hurts: No one.

Match-Up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets

Helps: Geno Smith, Jeremy Kerley, Stephen Hill, Santonio Holmes, Jeff Cumberland, Kellen Winslow

Hurts: –

Helps: Doug Martin

Hurts: Josh Freeman, Vincent Jackson, Mike Williams, Kevin Ogletree

Match-Up: Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers

Helps: Ben Roethlisberger, Isaac Redman, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Felix Jones, Heath Miller or whoever plays tight end

Hurts: –

Helps: No one.

Hurts: Jake Locker, Chris Johnson, Shonn Greene, Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, Kendall Wright, Delanie Walker or whoever plays tight end

Match-Up: Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers

Helps: –

Hurts: Cam Newton, DeAngelo Williams, Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell

Helps: Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Zach Miller

Hurts: Russell Wilson, Sidney Rice, Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin

Match-Up: Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars

Helps: Blaine Gabbert, Maurice Jones-Drew, Cecil Shorts

Hurts: Whoever plays tight end.

Helps: Jamaal Charles

Hurts: –

Match-Up: Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams

Helps: –

Hurts: Sam Bradford, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens, Jared Cook

Helps: –

Hurts: Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Andre Roberts

Match-Up: Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers

Helps: –

Hurts: Vernon Davis

Helps: No one.

Hurts: Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacy, Randall Cobb, James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Jermichael Finley

Match-Up: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

Helps: Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin

Hurts: –

Helps: David Wilson, Brandon Myers

Hurts: –

Match-Up: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins

Helps: Robert Griffin, Pierre Garcon, Leonard Hankerson, Santana Moss

Hurts: Fred Davis

Helps: Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Jason Avant, Brent Celek

Hurts: LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown

Match-Up: Houston Texans at San Diego Chargers

Helps: Vincent Brown, Malcom Floyd, Antonio Gates

Hurts: Ryan Mathews, Ronnie Brown, Danny Woodhead

Helps: –

Hurts: Arian Foster, Ben Tate, Owen Daniels

*Rankings courtesy of Yahoo.com.

Igor Derysh

Igor Derysh is Editor-at-Large at XN Sports and has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sun-Sentinel, and FantasyPros. He has previously covered sports for COED Magazine, Fantasy Alarm, and Manwall.com.

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