Based on finite element discretization, two linearization approaches to the defect-correction method for the steady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are discussed and investigated. By applying $m$ times of Newton and Picard iterations to solve an artificial viscosity stabilized nonlinear Navier-Stokes problem, respectively, and then correcting the solution by solving a linear problem, two linearized defect-correction algorithms are proposed and analyzed. Error estimates with respect to the mesh size $h$, the kinematic viscosity ${ u}$, the stability factor ${alpha}$ and the number of nonlinear iterations $m$ for the discrete solution are derived for the linearized one-step defect-correction algorithms. Efficient stopping criteria for the nonlinear iterations are derived. The influence of the linearizations on the accuracy of the approximate solutions are also investigated. Finally, numerical experiments on a problem with known analytical solution, the lid-driven cavity flow, and the flow over a backward-facing step are performed to verify the theoretical results and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed defect-correction algorithms.