Defensemen tiers: Who to draft early and who to wait on

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  Sean AllenSep 9, 2026, 09:00 AM ET

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  Sean Allen is a contributing writer for fantasy hockey and betting at ESPN. He was the 2008 and 2009 FSWA Hockey Writer of the Year.

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Defense isn't a staircase.

But it's hard to resist the imperative to draft it like one - step down, step down, step down, one rung better than the next. But look at what's actually in front of you.

There are two guys standing on a rooftop (hi, Bouchard and Makar), a small clump one floor down, and then ... a parking lot. Forty defenders milling around on roughly the same slab of asphalt, and your job is to not overpay to reach into that lot a round too early.

That's why tiers matter more on defense than anywhere else.

The mistake isn't picking the wrong guy inside the parking lot -- they're interchangeable, that's the whole point -- it's spending a fourth-round pick on a parking-lot guy when the pack won't thin out for fifty more selections.

Tiers tell you two things at this position: where the actual cliffs are, and how long the flat stretches run. Know that, and you'll grab your one or two difference-makers, then happily wait out the plateau while your league-mates panic-reach for names that were going to be there anyway.

A quick note on where these come from before you start climbing. The numbers are my own projections, not ESPN's in-game ranks. I lean on a few years of each guy's track record, weigh it against how similar defensemen have aged, and then trust my gut on the margins. Fair warning: this is the ESPN game, so a blocked shot and a hit carry real weight. That's why a grinder might sit above a name you'd expect higher. Read it that way and the whole board holds together.

Note: Points based on the ESPN standard scoring system.

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Tier 1: The rooftop

1. Evan Bouchard, D, Edmonton Oilers: (projected: 206.7, last season: 209.0)

2. Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche: (projected: 192.3, last season: 196.0)

Notes: I wouldn't advocate for grabbing one of them before the clear top-four forwards (Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini, Nikita Kucherov), but I wouldn't quibble one bit with Bouchard and Makar being picks No. 5 and 6 at a draft. They have a clear separation from the next tier that just doesn't exist elsewhere.

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Tier 2: First floor down

3. Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa Senators: (projected: 186.5, last season: 161.2)

4. Matthew Schaefer, D, New York Islanders: (projected: 182.8, last season: 172.7)

5. Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets: (projected: 182.2, last season: 189.9)

6. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres: (projected: 181.9, last season: 169.6)

7. Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings: (projected: 181.2, last season: 205.4)

8. Brandt Clarke, D, Los Angeles Kings: (projected: 175.4, last season: 166.0)

9. Jackson LaCombe, D, Anaheim Ducks: (projected: 174.0, last season: 164.5)

Notes: Among D, Bouchard or Makar will probably finish with the most fantasy points in 2026-27. But my jaw wouldn't be on the floor if it were anyone from this tier. But they are here because accomplishing that feat is more about a stumble from both of the elite pair, rather than a push from these players. Schaefer is the exception to that, as his performance as an 18-year-old suggests a sky-high ceiling. It's just a question of whether he can have a sophomore campaign that brings it out. I'm not sold that the Isles have the power play that can rush him to an early peak.

Tier 3: Reach for these, not the pack

10. Quinn Hughes, D, Minnesota Wild: (projected: 167.3, last season: 162.9)

11. MacKenzie Weegar, D, Utah Mammoth: (projected: 162.1, last season: 155.0)

12. Lane Hutson, D, Montreal Canadiens: (projected: 160.2, last season: 184.0)

13. Darren Raddysh, D, Toronto Maple Leafs: (projected: 159.5, last season: 167.4)

14. Rasmus Andersson, D, Vegas Golden Knights: (projected: 158.6, last season: 166.9)

Notes: Remember: This is the ESPN game, which means Hughes' aversion to shot-blocking and body-checking takes him a notch down from his offensive peers. Yes, he can score with the best of them on the blue line. But six hits? A pylon might get bumped into more often than that over the course of a season. Andersson and Weegar, the former Flames, still have the peripherals to maintain value on their new teams even without first power-play billing.

Tier 4: Edge of the parking lot

15. Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars: (projected: 152.5, last season: 169.8)

16. Noah Dobson, D, Canadiens: (projected: 150.6, last season: 179.1)

17. Simon Edvinsson, D, Red Wings: (projected: 147.8, last season: 127.7)

18. Mattias Samuelsson, D, Sabres: (projected: 147.0, last season: 156.5)

19. Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins: (projected: 147.0, last season: 166.5)

20. Mikhail Sergachev, D, Mammoth: (projected: 145.3, last season: 165.2)

21. Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers: (projected: 145.1, last season: 122.9)

22. Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis Blues: (projected: 144.2, last season: 128.0)

23. Brock Faber, D, Wild: (projected: 143.6, last season: 167.6)

Notes: Among the projections I'm most worried about being too conservative on are both Heiskanen and Sergachev from this tier. I wouldn't be uncomfortable with either as my No. 1 D, but I'd rather they were my No. 2.

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Tier 5: Bounce-back bin

24. Josh Morrissey, D, Winnipeg Jets: (projected: 139.8, last season: 154.3)

25. Jakob Chychrun, D, Washington Capitals: (projected: 137.3, last season: 179.9)

26. Travis Sanheim, D, Philadelphia Flyers: (projected: 132.8, last season: 140.6)

27. Thomas Chabot, D, Senators: (projected: 130.9, last season: 112.0)

28. Jake Walman, D, Oilers: (projected: 130.4, last season: 86.1)

29. Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators: (projected: 129.8, last season: 151.0)

30. Alexander Romanov, D, Islanders: (projected: 129.5, last season: 21.3)

31. Cole Hutson, D, Capitals: (projected: 129.5, last season: 22.8)

Notes: The name says it: almost everyone here is projected north of where they finished last season, and you're betting the dip was the fluke. Josi and Morrissey are the safe floors if you don't love gambling. The two you actually have to think about are Romanov and Cole Hutson, whose "last season" numbers (21.3 and 22.8) look like disasters but are really just injury and a partial rookie year - don't read those as production, read them as small samples.

Tier 6: The parking lot

32. Martin Fehervary, D, Capitals: (projected: 127.4, last season: 137.3)

33. Zayne Parekh, D, Calgary Flames: (projected: 126.6, last season: 37.4)

34. Simon Nemec, D, Flames: (projected: 126.0, last season: 102.4)

35. John Carlson, D, Tampa Bay Lightning: (projected: 124.8, last season: 151.9)

36. Jamie Drysdale, D, Flyers: (projected: 124.6, last season: 103.2)

37. Dougie Hamilton, D, New Jersey Devils: (projected: 123.8, last season: 125.5)

38. Thomas Harley, D, Stars: (projected: 123.8, last season: 134.2)

39. Philip Broberg, D, Blues: (projected: 123.6, last season: 104.8)

40. Pavel Mintyukov, D, Ducks: (projected: 122.6, last season: 99.3)

41. Jonas Brodin, D, Wild: (projected: 121.8, last season: 95.1)

42. Justin Faulk, D, Red Wings: (projected: 121.4, last season: 148.8)

43. Bowen Byram, D, Chicago Blackhawks: (projected: 120.4, last season: 119.4)

44. Cam York, D, Flyers: (projected: 120.3, last season: 117.2)

45. Seth Jones, D, Florida Panthers: (projected: 119.0, last season: 91.0)

46. Filip Hronek, D, Vancouver Canucks: (projected: 118.8, last season: 145.5)

47. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, Carolina Hurricanes: (projected: 118.6, last season: 118.0)

48. Darnell Nurse, D, San Jose Sharks: (projected: 118.4, last season: 145.5)

49. Erik Karlsson, D, Pittsburgh Penguins: (projected: 118.3, last season: 145.6)

50. Braden Schneider, D, Rangers: (projected: 117.9, last season: 116.5)

51. Alexander Nikishin, D, Hurricanes: (projected: 117.6, last season: 121.9)

Notes: This is the lot. You could shuffle most of these names and I couldn't argue hard against your order. That's the point -- don't agonize, just make sure you're not reaching. A few threads worth pulling: Parekh is pure projection faith on a rookie the Flames need to lean on. If the power play is his, he leaps tiers. Karlsson, Carlson and Faulk are the veteran name brands whose fantasy value now leans on peripherals and power-play time more than the point totals their reputations imply. Byram finally landed in Chicago with a real role, so the games-played and usage are there now in a way they weren't when he was buried. If you waited this long on defense, this is where patience gets rewarded: you're getting Tier 4 production for a Tier 6 pick more often than not.

Tier 7: Last ones off the lot

52. Denton Mateychuk, D, Blue Jackets: (projected: 116.7, last season: 103.4)

53. Jake McCabe, D, Maple Leafs: (projected: 114.4, last season: 143.1)

54. Jacob Trouba, D, Sharks: (projected: 113.6, last season: 151.9)

55. Vince Dunn, D, Seattle Kraken: (projected: 113.5, last season: 129.6)

56. Artyom Levshunov, D, Blackhawks: (projected: 113.5, last season: 86.7)

57. Adam Larsson, D, Kraken: (projected: 113.0, last season: 135.1)

58. Dylan Samberg, D, Jets: (projected: 112.1, last season: 86.4)

59. Mattias Ekholm, D, Oilers: (projected: 112.0, last season: 130.6)

60. Erik Gudbranson, D, Blue Jackets: (projected: 111.1, last season: 43.9)

Notes: Bench-and-stream territory. In a standard league you're not starting most of these, so draft for one specific thing rather than overall value. Want peripherals? Samberg, Trouba and Gudbranson pile up hits and blocks that play up in our format even when the points don't come. Want upside? Mateychuk and Levshunov are the young swings - role and power-play time decide whether they ever climb out of here. McCabe and Ekholm are the steady veterans who'll quietly out-earn their draft slot on a good team. Past this point you're guessing as much as anyone, so grab the profile that fills your roster's gap and move on.

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