It can still be a solid strategy to pay down for a defender in order to pay up for someone in an attacking position, but defenders continue to contribute this season. Six defenders have two goals this year while many others have found the back of the net. There are eight defenders in the top 20 of the Squawka Performance Score, which measures every touch of the ball. Aymeric Laporte ($5,500) leads the entire league in this advanced statistic.

Sol Bamba ($6,500), Harry Maguire ($6,000), Virgil Van Dijk ($6,000) and Antonio Rudiger ($5,500) are all among the top performers, per Squawka. In DFS, each of them averages at least 13 FanDuel points per game. After back-to-back games of more than 18 points, Jose Holebas ($5,500) now averages a touch more than 21 points per game and is another solid defending option. Overall, there are 29 defenders averaging at least 15 points.

Holebas is tied with Lucas Digne ($5,500) for the most chances created from the back line. They have 20 chances created, which is five more than the next defender. There are only 12 players in the entire league -- at all positions -- with more chances created, and that does not include the likes of Paul Pogba ($9,500) or N'golo Kante ($7,000).