Where to Draft Defenders in Fantrax EPL 23/24

Defenders are usually the most overlooked Fantasy EPL position during a draft (goalkeepers aside). Everyone is fighting to add the best Premier League attackers to their roster, while elite defenders fall further and further down the draft board. This article will give you some insight on how to build a strong defense on draft day! For more incredible analysis and draft help check out our 23/24 Draft Kit and our Pricing Plans.

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Defender Tiers

The following tiers will greatly help you decide where to pick defenders in your Fantasy EPL draft this summer. Check out our Tiered Rankings Cheat Sheet for the combined thoughts of the Draft Society staff for all Fantrax positions ahead of the 23/24 season!

The Elite

I have never been one to draft defenders early, but this year may be different. In my opinion the “elite” group will consist of: Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier. Outside of that I consider there to be a "secondary elite" group that will consist of: Andrew Robertson, Luke Shaw, Fabian Schar, Pedro Porro, and Pervis Estupian.

I would add that the likes of Reece and Chilwell can also be considered elite assets, but their injury history and uncertainty makes them a wait-and-see decision. Managers should follow their preseasons carefully. If they are fit and firing under Pochettino, they should be considered in the "secondary elite" group.

As you can see, this season there is a bigger drop-off than normal in that elite group. Trent and Trippier are in a league of their own, and drafting one of these two will ensure you get a 10+ PPS defender, which will be extremely rare this year. With a decent amount of quality to be spread around in the attacking positions, it seems missing out on an elite or even the secondary elite group will impact your overall roster construction. Having at least 1 set-and-forget asset in each position is always a good strategy, but this year more than ever it will be important to take a defender within the first 1-3 rounds.

I would recommend targeting one of these defenders in your first 2-3 rounds. Trent and Trippier will be gone in the first round, probably between picks 6-12, while the secondary elite group should last until the mid-3rd round. I expect all of the above defenders, barring any preseason injuries or mishaps to be gone before round 4 begins.

The Above Average Ones

These defenders are just below the elite ones and will probably be off the board by Round 7 in a 12-team league, depending on the preferences of its managers. The defenders in this group may be coming off a mediocre season, but can provide elite value on their day and may also carry "name value" to earn them picks earlier in the draft. Name value, of course, carries added value, as it always makes for a nice trade piece.

This group includes defenders like: James Tarkowski, Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock, Virgil Van Dijk, and Dalot/Wan-Bissaka. If you can't get one of the elite or secondary elite defenders, I would look to draft one of these guys as your DEF1, and hope they end up having a great season. The caveat with the United right-back duo is not knowing who will get more starts. Unfortunately, you will either need to plan to only get one or sacrifice more diversity to lock up the duo. In this group, any of these defenders have the chance to be elite this season, and all showed potential of it last season or in the one before it.

I am also not against the strategy of drafting two of these defenders in back-to-back rounds to have a solid balance in your squad. By the end of round 7, if you have 2 defenders and 5 attackers, then your roster balance is in good shape to start taking punts and upside picks as the draft progresses. As of now this would be my recommended strategy, though this may change as the summer progresses. In that case, we'll update articles like this to reflect any new strategies.

The "Mid-Tier" Ones

When it comes to drafting defenders after the ones mentioned above are all off the board, you must use the fixture list and target defenders with friendly fixtures in the first 5-7 game weeks. For the 23/24 season, this would include teams such as Arsenal, Brighton, Everton, and Manchester City. This is also a good time to pickup defenders who will either a) get a lot of clean sheets, but not as many "ghosts" or b) the reverse.

Starting with the favorable-fixture defenders, the elite assets from these teams will be gone in the first 7 rounds, but players such as Ben White, Gabriel, Dias, and Mykolenko might be available. Brighton don't really have any mid-tier defensive assets (as far as points per start are concerned), so I would look to get the likes of Dunk and Webster after round 9 if you can. The likes of Konate and Varane should both get a plethora of clean sheets this year, but don't really rack up the counting stats. I wouldn't be surprised to see these players available in the double-digit rounds, and they should be considered good value after round 8-9. The likes of: Tete, Felipe, Robinson, and Moreno have all shown that they ghost quite nicely over the past season. Unfortunately, their teams are very inconsistent defensively, hence why these players should be available in rounds 7-11. It's always good to avoid drafting more than 1 player on these types of teams to spread the risk and avoid stacking players from teams that are inconsistent.

In a perfect world, these defenders would be considered your "DEF2/3" so that you are not relying on them to bring in the big points every week. But, know that they are reliable enough to finish at around 8 Points Per Start by Gameweek 38.

Since many managers will be focused on filling their squads with "more attractive" forwards and midfielders, this group of defenders is probably the most common tier to target during a draft, so be mindful when your league goes on a "defender run" if you're waiting to make your move. You don't want to be scrambling at Round 12 with Tyrone Mings as your best available option for your DEF1.

The "Punts"

Once you reach the very late rounds, I would look to punt on at least 1-2 defenders who you may think could have a breakout season. Some of the punts I might recommend include: Tyrick Mitchell, Wesley Fofana, Lewis Hall, Nelson Semedo, and Levi Colwill. These players will seriously need something to go their way such as more cleansheets, playtime, a better injury record, or a few more ghosts. They have all shown they have great potential in fantasy and a punt on them in the late rounds could pay off huge. This is also when you can consider taking some defenders from promoted teams. Check out Draft Lad's amazing Fantrax 23/23 Incomers Stats & Callouts to see how promoted players and rumored transfers performed last season (with their stats converted to Fantrax points).

Why Should you Draft Defenders?

Last Season Results

Last season there were 42 midfielders that managed to score at least 250 Fantrax points, but only 15 defenders. This shows the scarcity in quality defenders. Clean sheets are becoming harder to predict each season as well, with even the top teams conceding the odd goal to bottom table teams. Instead of relying on streaming defenders with poor ghost point output and hoping for the clean sheet bonus, it would be better to come out of the draft with at least 1 (and preferably more) set-and-forget defenders who could finish top 15 at their position. The midfield pool depth will always allow you to pick up a starting CDM and hope he gets 6-10 points that day, but streaming a Burnley defender vs. Manchester City due to waiver wire scarcity is a death sentence.

The Verdict

I would aim to draft at least 1-2 defenders before Round 6, then 2-3 more defenders between Rounds 7-12. After Round 12, I would look to take 2-3 punts on some high-upside defenders that you could drop to the waiver wire with little fuss. But, if they end up working out, they could be the key to a title-winning year. In total, if you come out of the draft with 5-7 defenders who are a mix of set-and-forget and high-upside punts , you are in good shape. Formations allow you to start up to 5 defenders each week, so stacking some high-quality ones in that position is another to approach the draft, and one many in your league may not think about.

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