To kick off our look at the best fullbacks from across Europe for the last three seasons, we take a look at the meat and drink of defensive players. Tackles, interceptions, clearances and blocks are the most mentioned barometer by which fullbacks are rated even in this age of wing backs. Who are the players that shine in these defensive actions? Take a look.
Tackling
| Player | Club | Ranking | Tackle Score |
| Filipe Luis | Atletico Madrid | 1 | 3.57 |
| Cedric Soares | Southampton | 2 | 3.52 |
| Abdul 'Baba' Rahman | Chelsea | 3 | 3.45 |
| Benjamin Henrichs | Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | 3.26 |
| Luca Antonelli | Atlético Madrid | 5 | 3.04 |
| Danny Rose | Tottenham | 6 | 2.96 |
| Allan Nyom | West Brom | 7 | 2.74 |
| Kyle Walker | Man City | 8 | 2.73 |
| Nathaniel Clyne | Liverpool | 9 | 2.62 |
| Cesar Azplicueta | Chelsea | 10 | 2.59 |
| Pablo Zabaleta | West Ham | 11 | 2.48 |
| Matteo Darmian | Man United | 12 | 2.42 |
| Daniel Alves | PSG | 13 | 2.35 |
| Elseid Hysaj | Napoli | 14 | 2.22 |
| Erik Pieters | Stoke City | 15 | 2.21 |
| Gael Clichy | Tottenham | 16 | 2.08 |
| Antonio Valencia | Man United | 17 | 2.05 |
| Calum Chambers | Arsenal | 18 | 1.99 |
| Ignazio Abate | AC Milan | 19 | 1.98 |
| Marcelo | Real Madrid | 20 | 1.97 |
| Seamus Coleman | Everton | 21 | 1.96 |
| Danilo | Man City | 22 | 1.95 |
| Alberto Moreno | Liverpool | 23 | 1.93 |
| Wendell | Bayer Leverkusen | 24 | 1.93 |
| Sead Kolasinac | Arsenal | 25 | 1.89 |
Interceptions
| Player | Club | Ranking | Interception Score |
| Benjamin Henrichs | Bayer Leverkusen | 1 | 4.12 |
| Wendell | Bayer Leverkusen | 2 | 3.38 |
| Gael Clichy | Başakşehir | 3 | 3.34 |
| Nacho Monreal | Arsenal | 4 | 3.28 |
| Hugo Mallo | Celta de Vigo | 5 | 3.28 |
| Stefan Radu | Lazio | 6 | 2.94 |
| Daley Blind | Man United | 7 | 2.88 |
| Baba Rahman | Chelsea | 8 | 2.82 |
| Martin Montoya | Valencia | 9 | 2.68 |
| Rafinha | Bayern Munich | 10 | 2.68 |
| Kieran Gibbs | West Brom | 11 | 2.68 |
| Alex Sandro | Juventus | 12 | 2.65 |
| Danilo | Man City | 13 | 2.60 |
| Layvin Kurzawa | PSG | 14 | 2.55 |
| Marcel Schmelzer | Borussia Dortmund | 15 | 2.54 |
| Joao Cancelo | Inter Milan | 16 | 2.46 |
| Luca Antonelli | AC Milan | 17 | 2.45 |
| Ignazio Abate | AC Milan | 18 | 2.44 |
| Sergi Roberto | Barcelona | 19 | 2.44 |
| David Alaba | Bayern Munich | 20 | 2.42 |
| Oscar Wendt | Monchengladbach | 21 | 2.39 |
| Pablo Zabaleta | West Ham | 22 | 2.39 |
| Juan Bernat | Bayern Munich | 23 | 2.39 |
| Calum Chambers | Arsenal | 24 | 2.38 |
| Daniel Carvajal | Real Madrid | 25 | 2.38 |
Clearances and Blocks
| Player | Club | Ranking | Clearance and Block Score |
| Charlie Daniels | Bournemouth | 1 | 8.65 |
| Aaron Cresswell | West Ham | 2 | 8.46 |
| Bacary Sagna | Unattached | 3 | 8.40 |
| Gael Clichy | Başakşehir | 4 | 8.18 |
| Kieran Trippier | Tottenham | 5 | 7.68 |
| Glen Johnson | Stoke City | 6 | 6.13 |
| Calum Chambers | Arsenal | 7 | 6.04 |
| Patrick van Aanholt | Crystal Palace | 9 | 5.85 |
| Nacho Monreal | Arsenal | 8 | 5.67 |
| Daley Blind | Man United | 7 | 5.54 |
| Cedric Soares | Southampton | 10 | 5.43 |
| Nathaniel Clyne | Liverpool | 11 | 5.24 |
| Danny Simpson | Leicester City | 12 | 5.16 |
| Hector Bellerin | Man City | 13 | 5.05 |
| Jonas Hector | PSG | 14 | 4.78 |
| Kyle Naughton | Swansea City | 15 | 4.77 |
| Leighton Baines | Everton | 16 | 4.58 |
| Aleksandar Kolarov | Roma | 17 | 4.44 |
| Luca Antonelli | AC Milan | 18 | 4.34 |
| Mario Gaspar | Villarreal | 19 | 4.32 |
| Seamus Coleman | Everton | 20 | 4.26 |
| Kieran Gibbs | West Brom | 21 | 4.06 |
| Kyle Walker | Man City | 22 | 4.05 |
| Elseid Hysaj | Napoli | 23 | 4.04 |
| Oscar Wendt | Monchengladbach | 25 | 3.95 |
