Making tough lineup decisions each week can be the most challenging part of fantasy football. When you're torn between two similar players, start the player with the superior matchup.
But exactly how does one determine the best (and worst) weekly matchups?
The matchup rankings provide a schedule-independent method to evaluate positional matchups, ranking all 32 opposing defenses in order of most to least favorable for opposing players at all four skill positions. Instead of relying upon seasonal totals, we calibrate points-allowed data to show how each defense fared relative to the difficulty of the schedule it has faced.
For Week 5, 2026 full-season data is used, and once five weeks are in the books, only the most recent five weeks' numbers will be used.