The Best Defenses in 2023 NFL

While a lot of the attention in the NFL is on the offensive side of the ball and stars like Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, defense is just as—if not more—important. You know the old adage that defense wins championships.

With the 2023 NFL season approaching, it’s time to think about what defenses can give their team a chance to win a title. In this article, we’ll be ranking the NFL’s defenses from 32 to first based on expectations about their 2023 seasons.

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Who Has the Best Defense in the 2023 NFL Season?

There are a handful of contenders for the best defense in 2023, but the San Francisco 49ers stand out because of the talent the team has on the defensive side of the ball.

Last year, the 49ers allowed the second-fewest yards in the NFL, and were tied for the third-fewest yards allowed per play. That strong defensive play helped the team weather a host of issues on the offensive end.

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NFL Top 32 Ranked Defenses

Below is our ranking of the NFL’s 32 defenses.

32. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders don’t have many standouts offensively, but they did use a first-round pick on defensive end Tyree Wilson. Still, Wilson’s not enough to save a mostly anonymous defensive unit. Adding safety Marcus Epps and re-signing defensive lineman Jerry Tillery in free agency were good moves, but it’s too little to turn this defense around in 2023.

31. Los Angeles Rams

Until recently, defense was a strength for the Rams, but the team enters 2023 without much on that side of the ball, aside from Aaron Donald. But while Donald might be one of the best defensive linemen of all time, the rest of this unit is rebuilding, and Donald’s not going to be able to lift them into being a good defense. The secondary is especially concerning, as the team lost Nick Scott, Taylor Rapp and David Long in free agency.

30. Chicago Bears

The Bears allowed the second-most yards per play last season and the second-most rushing yards in the NFL. Offseason additions like Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards help shore up some holes, but they’ll need rookies Tyrique Stevenson, Gervon Dexter Jr. and Zacch Pickens to make a fast impact to improve this unit.

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29. Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are set to be one of the NFL’s worst teams in 2023, as they’ll be without quarterback Kyler Murray for much of the season. The defense isn’t set to help much. With J.J. Watt gone, the team’s pass-rushing unit is expected to struggle, and the secondary allowed the third-most completions last season.

28. Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota’s defense struggled down the stretch last season, and while adding Marcus Davenport and Byron Murphy in free agency are good moves, they won’t really make up for the fact that the team traded away Za’Darius Smith. The secondary still has talent with safety Harrison Smith and third-round pick Mekhi Blackmon, but overall this feels like a defense that’s a number of pieces away from being good.

27. New York Giants

The good news? The Giants made some good additions, including defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. The bad news? This unit allowed the eighth-most yards in the NFL last year and lost Julian Love to the Seahawks in free agency. There’s upside for this unit, but a lot will depend on how rookie cornerback Deonte Banks adjusts to the speed of the NFL game.

26. Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons added a lot of new pieces this offseason, the most notable being safety Jessie Bates, who they signed to a four-year, $64.02 million deal. Overall though, there weren’t a lot of impact additions to a defense that had the sixth-fewest takeaways and allowed the seventh-most yards per play, leaving this among the league’s worst units, even after adding to the secondary.

25. Jacksonville Jaguars

On paper, the Jaguars look like a talented group. Josh Allen, Devin Lloyd, Travon Walker, K’Lavon Chaisson and Tyson Campbell are all first or second-round picks from the team since 2019 who play key roles. But not all those players have lived up to their billing, and the team didn’t use a Day 1 or Day 2 pick on defense this year. This could be a good defense is the pieces all hit, but it’s a little disjointed right now.

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24. Tennessee Titans

A lot of changes for the Titans this offseason. Gone are DeMarcus Walker, David Long and Bud Dupree. In are Arden Key, Azeez Al-Shaair, Luke Gifford and Sean Murphy-Bunting. Maybe those swaps will help improve things, but depth is a concern, as is the fact that the team didn’t draft a single defender this year, focusing instead on bolstering the offense.

23. Houston Texans

The Texans signed a lot of veterans to plug holes this offseason, adding players like Chase Winovich, Sheldon Rankings, Hassan Ridgeway, Cory Littleton, Denzel Perryman, Shaquill Griffin, and Jimmie Ward. That should help prevent the defense from being too bad, but it’s not a very star-studded unit, and it’ll likely be on the field too much to be as effective as the personnel might indicate.

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have talent on defense, including a number of former first-round picks with Vita Vea, Devin White, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and 2023 first-rounder Calijah Kancey. Overall though, this pass rush isn’t very imposing, and a solid defensive backfield doesn’t really help make up for that enough.

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21. Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have one of the league’s premier defenders in safety Jamal Adams and some good veterans up front in Jarran Reed and Bobby Wagner, but the depth just might not be there. Maybe if rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon gets off to a strong start, this defense will be able to push closer to the middle of the league, but there are just a few too many holes.

20. Detroit Lions

The Lions defense struggled last season, allowing more yards per play than any other NFL team. But expect improvement in 2023. The team spent a first-round pick on linebacker Jack Cambell, a second on defensive back Brian Branch and a third on defensive lineman Brodric Martin, plus added Christian Covington, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Emmanuel Moseley, Cameron Sutton, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and C.J. Moore. This projects to be the league’s most improved defense.

19. Carolina Panthers

Never count out a defense with playmakers like Brian Burns and Jaycee Horn, but is there enough across the rest of the field to make a difference? The team will need to hope the free-agent investment in Vonn Bell and Shy Tuttle can make up for the fact that Carolina only added two defensive players in the draft, taking DJ Johnson in the third round and Jammie Robinson in the fifth.

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18. Green Bay Packers

If the Packers are going to win with Aaron Rodgers gone, they’ll need the defense to step up. And it definitely could, with a secondary that features Jaire Alexander and Darnell Savage, plus a front seven with Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Preston Smith and 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, one of five defensive players that Green Bay drafted this year.

17. Los Angeles Chargers

The star power is here for the Chargers, as they’ve got Joey Bosa and Derwin James. The addition of Eric Kendricks in free agency adds some needed veteran presence in the middle of the field, and young players like Asante Samuel Jr. and Tuli Tuipulota give the defense a good future outlook. But there might just be too many holes, especially in the secondary, for this defense to be as good in real life as it appears it could be on paper.

16. Cleveland Browns

The Browns added Za’Darius Smith this offseason and now have a pretty scary pass rush between him and Myles Garrett. And there’s talent on the back end as well, with players like Denzel Ward, Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill. Cleveland might have some holes still, especially at linebacker, but this is a solid defensive unit, even if it’s not one of the NFL’s best defenses.

15. New Orleans Saints

This offseason saw the New Orleans defense, a top 10 unit last year, drop some key talent. David Onyemata’s in Atlanta now, as is Kaden Elliss. Shy Tuttle left for Carolina, and Marcus Davenport for Minnesota. Adding Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders helps some and this defense still has plenty of talent, but expect a little drop off from 2022’s numbers.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers

This year’s Steelers defense is no Steel Curtain, but it’s still a solid group. If things break right, a pass rush featuring T.J. Watt and a secondary led by Minkah Fitzpatrick can make this a top-10 defense. One of the biggest things the Steelers will need? For its two second-round picks to get up to speed fast: defensive lineman Keaanu Benton and cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

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13. Kansas City Chiefs

Last year, the Chiefs defense was good enough to get the team a Super Bowl title, and this year it should be in the same boat. Not having Frank Clark anymore will be tough, but the defensive line is still anchored by Chris Jones, and the addition of first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah will help the pass rush. The secondary might not have many stars, but players like Justin Reid, L’Jarius Sneed and Jaylen Watson are underrated talents and Watson could be a future star in this league.

12. Indianapolis Colts

A healthy Shaquille Leonard would do wonders for this defense. Add in a strong secondary led by Justin Blackmon, Kenny Moore and second-round pick JuJu Brents and a talented front seven with Kwity Paye, Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner, and this could easily wind up as a top-10 unit. It really all depends on how Leonard looks.

11. Baltimore Ravens

It’s not the imposing Ravens defense of old, but the secondary is among the NFL’s best, led by safeties Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams. Up in the front seven, a linebacker unit of Patrick Queen, Roquan Smith and Tyus Bowser should put fear into opposing teams. If there’s a weakness, it’s that the defensive line might not be quite as good as the rest of the defense, which could pose some problems for this franchise.

10. Denver Broncos

Maybe the Broncos don’t have a standout star, but there’s a lot of talent up and down this roster, from veterans like Josey Jewell, Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons to upside plays like Randy Gregory to emerging young talents like Pat Surtain II and rookies Drew Sanders and Riley Moss. Expect solid performances out of this squad every week.

9. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals lost some secondary talent as Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell left in free agency, but this is still one of the league’s most talented defenses, and using three picks in the first three rounds to add to the defense should really help the depth, provided Myles Murphy, DJ Turner II and Jordan Battle can quickly acclimate to the NFL. Adding safety Nick Scott in free agency should help soften the secondary losses.

8. Buffalo Bills

No team allowed fewer yards last year than the Bills, but they lost a handful of pieces from that defense. Still, they have talent all over the field, including safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, as well as players like Ed Oliver, Von Miller and Matt Milano up front. This should remain a top-10 defense in 2023.

7. New England Patriots

New England boasts a talented defensive unit, and the addition of Christian Gonzalez in the first round should help shore up the secondary. The team also drafted Keion White in the second round to add to a front seven that features Matthew Judon, Christian Barmore and Davon Godchaux.

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6. Philadelphia Eagles

Free agency saw this talented defense lose a lot of pieces. Gone are key pieces like Javon Hargrave, T.J. Edwards, Marcus Epps, Kyzir White and Chauncy Gardner-Johnson. But the team re-signed James Bradberry and also had one of the best drafts on defense this year, adding Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Sydney Brown and Kelee Ringo. With players like Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and Darius Slay on the field as well, don’t count out the Eagles defense.

5. Washington Commanders

The Commanders were a good defense last year and added Emmanuel Forbes and Jartavius Martin in the draft. Assuming Forbes starts, that’ll make six Washington first-round picks in the projected starting unit, as this team’s done a great job of finding talented defenders through the draft. The one big question mark: what happens with 2020 first-round pick Chase Young.

4. Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins made some big moves in free agency, notably adding Jalen Ramsey to a secondary that also features Xavien Howard. The front seven features a lot of talented players, including Christian Wilkins and Bradley Chubb, and the team used a second-round pick on promising cornerback Cam Smith.

3. Dallas Cowboys

Could this be the year the Cowboys get back to the Super Bowl? They have a defense built for it, with one of the best pass rushes and best secondaries. Up front, DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons headline a strong unit, and the addition of first-round nose tackle Mazi Smith can fill a need on the interior. Trevon Diggs is always a threat to pick off any pass that comes his way, and the team spent big to keep safety Donovan Wilson in free agency.

2. New York Jets

The New York Jets led the NFL in fewest yards allowed per play last season. This offseason, they re-signed Quincy Williams and added veterans such as Quinton Jefferson and Chuck Clark. The team also drafted linebacker Will McDonald IV in the first round, bolstering a strong linebacking unit.

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1. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers allowed the second-fewest yards and third-fewest yards per play last season. The front seven is formidable, led by Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead, and the team added Javon Hargrave in free agency to further bolster that unit. The 49ers also have talent in the defensive backfield with Charvarius Ward and Tashaun Gipson.

Where to Watch the 2023-2024 NFL?

Want to watch the NFL’s best defenses in 2023? The best way to watch the 2023-24 NFL season is with a subscription to Fubo, which will allow you to watch regional Sunday coverage on CBS and FOX as well as nationally broadcast games on ABC, ESPN, NBC and NFL Network.

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