FPL Defensive Contribution Picks 2026/27: The Budget Defenders Who Actually Hit the Threshold

Data current as of: 11 August 2026. Prices are 2026/27 launch prices. Coverage: Defensive action counts and points are 2025/26 finals, under the same defensive contribution rule in place for 2026/27. This was written before Gameweek 1, when last season’s rate was the best evidence of who clears these thresholds regularly; real 2026/27 minutes are now the stronger read where they’re available.

A defender scores 2 defensive contribution points by reaching 10 combined tackles, blocks, clearances and interceptions in a match. A midfielder or forward needs 12 combined defensive actions and recoveries for the same 2 points. It is a flat rate, every game, on top of whatever else that player does, and some players clear it two games out of every three while others barely touch it. Last season’s numbers show which is which.

Defence: the £5.0m tier that clears it most often

Player	Club	Price	Defcon points	Threshold hits	Actions per 90
Ballard	SUN	£5.0m	30	15 of 29	7.85
Danso	SUN	£5.0m	22	11 of 23	9.01
Botman	NEW	£5.0m	22	11 of 24	7.38
Wieffer	BHA	£5.0m	22	11 of 26	8.24
Bijol	LEE	£5.0m	20	10 of 24	6.66
Keane	EVE	£5.0m	26	13 of 32	6.55
Van den Berg	BRE	£5.0m	24	12 of 30	4.95
Richards	CRY	£5.0m	26	13 of 33	5.42

Ballard (SUN, £5.0m) hit the threshold in more than half of his appearances last season, the best rate of any defender at this price. He also has the highest total defcon points in the group, because he backed it up with a full season of minutes: 29 appearances, 2,144 minutes.

Danso (SUN, £5.0m) and Botman (NEW, £5.0m) both clear 45%, but from a smaller sample: 23 and 24 appearances against Ballard’s 29. Their per-90 rate is real, the minutes case behind it is thinner. Danso earned that rate at Tottenham and joins Ballard at Sunderland for 2026/27, so the two best rates in this tier are now competing for the same defence.

Wieffer (BHA, £5.0m) is worth a second look because he is listed as a defender for 2026/27, not the midfielder role he played for most of last season. That is a lower threshold to clear (10 actions instead of 12) for a player who was already producing at a midfielder’s defensive rate.

Keane (EVE, £5.0m) and Richards (CRY, £5.0m) are the two with the most matches banked: 32 and 33 appearances. Lower hit rate than the names above, but the largest sample size in the table, which is its own kind of evidence.

Defence: cheaper at £4.5m, lower hit rate

Player	Club	Price	Defcon points	Threshold hits	Actions per 90
Ajer	BRE	£4.5m	18	9 of 26	5.74
Rodon	LEE	£4.5m	18	9 of 33	3.51
Bassey	FUL	£4.5m	16	8 of 30	3.29
Dunk	BHA	£4.5m	16	8 of 33	2.95

Drop to £4.5m and the hit rate drops with it. Ajer (BRE, £4.5m) is the best of the cheaper tier at 34.6%, still behind every name in the £5.0m table above. Rodon (LEE, £4.5m) and Dunk (BHA, £4.5m) played almost every minute available last season, 33 appearances each, but neither reaches the action volume the pricier names do. This tier buys minutes reliability, not defensive contribution points.

Midfield: 12 actions is a harder bar

Player	Club	Price	Defcon points	Threshold hits	Actions per 90
Florentino	IPS	£5.0m	28	14 of 31	8.83
Yarmoliuk	BRE	£5.0m	22	11 of 35	5.67
I.Sangaré	NFO	£5.0m	16	8 of 27	5.17
Janelt	BRE	£5.0m	14	7 of 25	6.34
Adams	BOU	£5.0m	14	7 of 25	5.24
Iroegbunam	HUL	£5.0m	14	7 of 28	5.92

Midfielders need 12 combined actions instead of 10, and it shows: the best hit rate in this table, 45.2% for Florentino (IPS, £5.0m), would only be mid-table among the defenders above. Above £5.0m the picture changes, and the best FPL midfielders by price tier covers who banks defensive contribution points at £5.5m and up. Florentino played his defensive-midfield minutes for a team that went down last season and starts 2026/27 at Ipswich, so the role case carries more uncertainty than a player staying at the same club. Yarmoliuk (BRE, £5.0m) has the largest sample, 35 appearances, at a more moderate 31.4%.

The one thing this doesn’t capture

Defensive action counts follow the player and the role, not just the club, which means a summer move changes the case. Wieffer’s reclassification from midfielder to defender is already reflected in the numbers above, as are three summer moves: Florentino to Ipswich, Danso to Sunderland and Iroegbunam to Hull City. A new manager’s system can still shift a player’s action volume before a ball is kicked. Check current team news rather than locking these in from last season’s rate alone.

Hull City’s defenders are missing from every table above for the same reason: newly promoted, so there is no 2025/26 top-flight rate to measure. After Hull’s first two matches they are already scoring well at £4.0m to £4.5m; see the Gameweek 3 preview for how that early form looks.

For the full 2026/27 scoring breakdown, see the confirmed rule changes. For budget picks ranked by total points rather than defensive contribution specifically, see the budget enablers piece.

Load your team in FPL Pilot to compare these rates with the defenders you own and the moves that matter now.