Fantasy Premier League Rankings: Top Defenders for the 2021/22 Season

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Published on August 6, 2021

Below is the updated batch of our Fantasy Premier League defender rankings for the upcoming 2021/22 season. A few notes before the goods:

Only active Premier League players are considered for the rankings and they are only considered on the teams they are currently on.
The rankings are based on our season-long player projections, which are updated regularly based on injuries, transfers or other playing-time related news. Please note that the rankings are not automatically updated when the projections are but we will have regular rankings updates as well.
The rankings are specifically for the Premier League's official fantasy game, including an emphasis on attacking stats like shots on goal and chances created in addition to goals and assists.
The "PTS" column is not a specific fantasy-point projection but an index score to help break the list down into certain tiers.
The rankings can be used for salary cap or draft formats, though they do not consider positional scarcity or average draft position (ADP).

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on Twitter (@RotoWireAndrew) or in our subscriber Discord chat.

Note: All columns are sortable.

Overall Rank	DEF Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Price	Pts	MIN	G	A	SOG	CC	GC	CS
3	1	Trent Alexander-Arnold	LIV	D	7.5	255.50	3100	2	8	8	78	36	15
5	2	Andrew Robertson	LIV	D	7.0	224.25	3100	1	6	3	59	36	15
14	3	Ben Chilwell	CHE	D	6.0	198.00	2500	4	4	11	32	24	13
17	4	Aaron Cresswell	WHU	D	5.5	193.75	3000	2	6	3	41	46	10
19	5	Luke Shaw	MUN	D	5.5	193.25	2800	1	4	5	51	38	12
26	6	Vladimir Coufal	WHU	D	5.0	190.25	3000	2	6	4	35	46	10
38	7	Aaron Wan-Bissaka	MUN	D	5.5	175.75	3000	1	3	3	21	40	13
42	8	Joao Cancelo	MCI	D	6.0	175.00	2200	3	3	9	28	22	13
44	9	Reece James	CHE	D	5.5	174.75	2400	1	3	8	37	23	13
49	10	Matthew Lowton	BRN	D	4.5	170.25	3200	1	1	4	23	52	11
54	11	Junior Firpo	LEE	D	5.0	166.75	2800	1	3	5	25	43	11
55	12	Lewis Dunk	BHA	D	5.0	165.25	3000	4	0	10	7	46	9
57	13	James Tarkowski	BRN	D	5.0	163.75	3200	2	0	5	9	52	11
58	14	Harry Maguire	MUN	D	5.5	163.50	3100	1	0	4	6	42	14
59	15	Ben Mee	BRN	D	5.0	163.25	3200	2	0	6	7	52	11
66	16	Ben White	ARS	D	4.5	160.25	3000	1	3	2	7	36	12
67	17	Virgil van Dijk	LIV	D	6.5	159.50	2500	4	0	11	2	29	12
69	18	Charlie Taylor	BRN	D	4.5	159.25	3200	0	2	2	15	52	11
70	19	Kieran Tierney	ARS	D	5.0	158.00	2500	2	2	4	28	30	10
71	20	Ruben Dias	MCI	D	6.0	157.75	2700	1	0	3	5	27	16
72	21	Lucas Digne	EVE	D	5.5	157.50	2700	0	5	1	38	42	8
76	22	Gabriel	ARS	D	5.0	155.75	2800	2	2	6	5	34	11
77	23	Matty Cash	AVL	D	5.0	154.50	3000	0	2	2	22	43	10
78	24	Matt Targett	AVL	D	5.0	154.25	3000	0	1	1	27	43	10
79	25	Max Aarons	NOR	D	4.5	154.00	3200	1	1	3	24	64	7
80	26	Luke Ayling	LEE	D	4.5	154.00	2800	1	0	5	20	43	11
85	27	Tyrone Mings	AVL	D	5.0	152.75	3000	2	1	4	5	43	10
91	28	Jannik Vestergaard	SOU	D	5.0	147.50	3000	3	0	7	6	58	7
92	29	Ezri Konsa	AVL	D	5.0	147.50	3000	2	0	4	2	43	10
94	30	Rayan Ait-Nouri	WOL	D	4.5	146.50	2600	2	1	9	22	44	7
97	31	Angelo Ogbonna	WHU	D	5.0	145.75	2800	3	0	4	5	43	9
99	32	Caglar Soyuncu	LEI	D	5.0	143.75	2900	1	0	3	5	41	11
102	33	Kyle Walker-Peters	SOU	D	5.0	142.00	3000	0	2	6	16	58	7
103	34	Romain Perraud	SOU	D	5.0	141.75	2400	2	4	6	21	46	6
104	35	Adam Webster	BHA	D	4.5	141.75	3000	1	0	6	5	46	9
108	36	Timothy Castagne	LEI	D	5.5	139.25	2400	1	2	2	23	34	9
109	37	Kiko Femenia	WAT	D	4.5	139.00	2800	0	3	1	28	55	6
112	38	Sergio Reguilon	TOT	D	5.0	138.00	2600	0	2	2	16	30	10
117	39	Nelson Semedo	WOL	D	5.0	136.50	2600	1	1	8	18	44	7
118	40	Jan Bednarek	SOU	D	4.5	135.75	3000	1	1	5	5	58	7
120	41	Raphael Varane	MUN	D	-	135.00	2600	1	0	4	4	35	11
125	42	Conor Coady	WOL	D	4.5	133.25	3000	1	0	3	3	51	8
126	43	Craig Dawson	WHU	D	5.0	133.00	2500	3	0	5	4	38	8
127	44	Ricardo Pereira	LEI	D	5.5	133.00	2200	0	2	5	32	31	8
129	45	Tyrick Mitchell	CRY	D	4.5	132.25	2800	1	2	4	11	53	6
135	46	Cesar Azpilicueta	CHE	D	6.0	130.00	2000	1	1	5	16	19	11
137	47	Ethan Pinnock	BRE	D	4.5	128.25	3000	1	0	3	7	54	6
138	48	Grant Hanley	NOR	D	4.5	128.25	3000	1	0	2	3	60	7
141	49	Kyle Walker	MCI	D	5.5	127.50	2000	1	1	3	10	20	12
142	50	John Stones	MCI	D	5.5	125.25	2000	2	0	3	3	20	12
144	51	Antonio Rudiger	CHE	D	5.5	124.75	2000	1	1	8	5	19	11
147	52	Ryan Bertrand	LEI	D	5.0	124.50	2300	1	1	3	10	32	9
148	53	Mason Holgate	EVE	D	4.5	124.25	2500	1	1	4	11	39	7
150	54	Thiago Silva	CHE	D	5.5	123.00	2000	2	0	4	4	19	11
152	55	Liam Cooper	LEE	D	4.5	122.75	2400	1	0	8	1	36	9
153	56	Serge Aurier	TOT	D	5.0	122.00	2200	1	2	3	12	26	8
154	57	Ibrahima Konate	LIV	D	5.5	121.50	2100	2	0	5	2	25	10
159	58	Willy Boly	WOL	D	5.0	120.00	2500	1	1	5	4	42	7
161	59	Tariq Lamptey	BHA	D	4.5	118.75	2000	2	2	4	17	31	6
162	60	Matt Doherty	TOT	D	5.0	118.00	2000	0	3	2	20	23	8
165	61	Ben Godfrey	EVE	D	5.0	117.00	2400	1	2	2	4	37	7
166	62	Joel Veltman	BHA	D	4.5	115.75	2200	1	1	4	17	34	6
168	63	Adam Masina	WAT	D	4.5	114.50	2400	1	0	3	18	47	5
171	64	Michael Keane	EVE	D	5.0	112.75	2200	2	1	4	5	34	6
174	65	Rico Henry	BRE	D	4.5	112.00	2200	1	1	2	20	40	5
175	66	Joel Ward	CRY	D	4.5	111.25	2500	0	2	2	11	48	5
179	67	Joachim Andersen	CRY	D	4.5	109.75	2600	1	0	2	5	49	5
183	68	Jamal Lewis	NEW	D	4.5	108.25	2300	0	1	1	15	40	6
184	69	Craig Cathcart	WAT	D	4.5	107.50	2400	1	1	2	6	47	5
185	70	Jonny Evans	LEI	D	5.5	107.25	2000	1	1	1	7	28	8
189	71	Mads Bech Sorensen	BRE	D	4.5	106.00	2400	1	0	2	8	44	5
190	72	Diego Llorente	LEE	D	4.5	105.75	2000	1	0	4	5	30	8
191	73	Cheikhou Kouyate	CRY	D	4.5	105.25	2400	1	0	2	7	46	5
192	74	Rob Holding	ARS	D	4.5	105.00	2100	0	0	3	4	25	9
194	75	Federico Fernandez	NEW	D	4.5	104.75	2300	1	0	2	5	40	6
197	76	Ben Gibson	NOR	D	4.5	103.75	2400	0	1	1	5	48	6
198	77	Christian Kabasele	WAT	D	4.5	103.00	2400	1	0	2	4	47	5
202	78	Matt Ritchie	NEW	D	5.0	102.00	1900	0	2	1	24	33	5
203	79	Cristian Romero	TOT	D	-	101.50	1900	1	1	3	6	22	7
204	80	Dimitris Giannoulis	NOR	D	4.5	101.50	2200	0	1	2	14	44	5
205	81	Kurt Zouma	CHE	D	5.5	101.25	1600	2	0	7	3	15	8
207	82	Romain Saiss	WOL	D	5.0	101.00	2000	2	0	6	4	34	5
209	83	Hector Bellerin	ARS	D	5.0	100.00	1700	0	2	3	16	20	7
212	84	Seamus Coleman	EVE	D	5.0	99.75	1800	0	3	4	17	28	5
215	85	Fabian Schar	NEW	D	4.5	98.75	2000	2	0	6	1	35	5
218	86	Pablo Mari	ARS	D	4.5	95.00	1800	1	0	4	4	22	7
222	87	Issa Diop	WHU	D	4.5	94.50	1800	2	0	3	2	27	6
223	88	Eric Dier	TOT	D	4.5	94.50	2000	0	0	1	2	23	8
225	89	Marcos Alonso	CHE	D	5.5	94.25	1200	2	0	11	15	12	6
226	90	Aymeric Laporte	MCI	D	5.5	94.25	1700	0	0	1	3	17	10
232	91	Jamaal Lascelles	NEW	D	4.5	91.25	1800	2	0	3	3	31	5
235	92	Oleksandr Zinchenko	MCI	D	5.5	90.25	1400	0	1	5	11	14	8
236	93	Nuno Tavares	ARS	D	4.5	90.25	1500	0	1	4	19	18	6
237	94	Robin Koch	LEE	D	4.5	87.75	1800	0	0	2	5	27	7
238	95	Yerry Mina	EVE	D	5.0	87.50	1700	2	0	3	2	26	5
240	96	Andreas Christensen	CHE	D	5.0	87.00	1500	1	0	1	4	14	8
243	97	Pontus Jansson	BRE	D	4.5	85.50	2000	0	0	5	6	36	4
244	98	William Troost-Ekong	WAT	D	4.5	84.50	2000	1	0	1	2	39	4
259	99	Joe Rodon	TOT	D	4.5	79.75	1500	0	0	1	13	18	6
263	100	Marc Guehi	CRY	D	4.5	78.75	1900	0	0	2	5	36	4
272	101	Arthur Masuaku	WHU	D	4.5	74.25	1200	1	2	2	11	18	4
274	102	Pascal Struijk	LEE	D	4.5	71.50	1400	1	0	2	2	21	5
282	103	Joe Gomez	LIV	D	5.0	69.00	1200	0	2	0	4	14	6
284	104	Fernando Marcal	WOL	D	4.5	65.50	1400	0	0	0	10	24	4
292	105	Jakob Lungi Sorensen	NOR	D	4.5	62.75	1200	1	1	2	5	24	3
294	106	Paul Dummett	NEW	D	4.5	60.25	1300	1	0	1	3	22	3
295	107	Benjamin Mendy	MCI	D	5.5	59.25	800	1	0	1	11	8	5
296	108	Max Kilman	WOL	D	4.5	59.00	1300	0	1	2	4	22	3
297	109	Calum Chambers	ARS	D	4.5	58.75	1000	0	2	0	9	12	4
302	110	Alex Telles	MUN	D	5.0	55.25	800	0	1	1	15	11	4
303	111	Mohammed Salisu	SOU	D	4.5	55.00	1300	0	0	1	4	25	3
308	112	Ben Davies	TOT	D	4.0	54.25	1000	0	1	0	7	12	4
309	113	Daniel Amartey	LEI	D	4.0	53.75	1000	1	0	1	1	14	4
313	114	Victor Lindelof	MUN	D	5.0	50.75	1000	0	1	1	1	13	4
318	115	Cedric Soares	ARS	D	4.5	47.75	800	0	1	2	9	10	3
320	116	Emil Krafth	NEW	D	4.5	46.00	900	1	0	2	4	16	2
321	117	James Justin	LEI	D	5.0	46.00	800	1	0	1	4	11	3
322	118	Jonny	WOL	D	4.5	46.00	1000	0	0	1	4	17	3
324	119	Andrew Omobamidele	NOR	D	4.0	45.00	1100	0	0	0	0	22	3
325	120	Joel Matip	LIV	D	5.0	44.50	700	1	1	1	2	8	3
328	121	Erik Pieters	BRN	D	4.5	42.25	800	0	1	1	3	13	3
329	122	Jack Stephens	SOU	D	4.5	42.25	1000	0	0	2	3	19	2
330	123	Francisco Sierralta	WAT	D	4.5	40.75	1000	0	0	2	1	20	2
333	124	Jeremy Ngakia	WAT	D	4.5	39.50	800	0	1	0	6	16	2
334	125	Japhet Tanganga	TOT	D	4.5	39.50	800	0	0	2	2	9	3
335	126	Ryan Fredericks	WHU	D	4.5	39.00	500	1	1	1	8	8	2
336	127	Nathaniel Clyne	CRY	D	-	39.00	800	0	1	1	4	15	2
337	128	Christoph Zimmermann	NOR	D	4.5	38.75	1000	0	0	0	1	20	2
339	129	James Tomkins	CRY	D	4.5	37.50	900	0	0	1	2	17	2
341	130	Dan Burn	BHA	D	4.5	37.00	800	0	0	2	4	12	2
342	131	Davinson Sanchez	TOT	D	4.5	36.75	800	0	0	0	1	9	3
344	132	Danny Rose	WAT	D	4.5	35.75	800	0	0	0	5	16	2
345	133	Luke Thomas	LEI	D	4.5	35.25	500	1	1	1	3	7	2
348	134	Ashley Young	AVL	D	5.0	34.50	600	0	1	1	6	9	2
349	135	Eric Bailly	MUN	D	5.0	33.75	700	0	0	0	1	9	3
350	136	Ben Johnson	WHU	D	4.0	32.25	500	1	0	1	3	8	2
356	137	Javier Manquillo	NEW	D	4.0	28.25	600	0	0	0	3	10	2
357	138	Nathan Ake	MCI	D	5.0	28.00	500	0	0	1	0	5	3
358	139	Ciaran Clark	NEW	D	4.5	27.75	600	0	0	1	1	10	2
364	140	Nathaniel Phillips	LIV	D	4.5	23.75	500	0	0	0	1	6	2
365	141	Rhys Williams	LIV	D	4.5	23.75	500	0	0	0	1	6	2
371	142	Phil Bardsley	BRN	D	4.0	13.75	300	0	0	0	1	5	1