Draft Rankings 

Team Defenses / Special Teams

Rank

Team

Comments

1

Chicago

The Bears are returning almost all of their starters.  They are playing in a division where the Vikings, Packers and Lions have new coaches which tends to have bad offenses during their first season.  They do have a tough AFC East schedule this year. But finish with their division members during the playoffs.

2

Seattle

Seattle was a very opportunistic defense last year and they are still playing some bad teams in their division.  They are playing the AFC West this year which has some explosive offenses, but they also have a tendency to turn the ball over.  

3

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh’s defense is always a consistent point producer for FF.  Their special teams may take a hit with Randel El’s departure via free agency.

4

Carolina

Carolina will always be a defense first team under John Fox.  They will also get a lot of sacks and turnovers with their D-line.  The special teams are always a threat with Steve Smith returning punts.

5

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay had the best defense last year.  This does not normally generate turnovers, but if you can shut down an opponent the turnovers could come late in the games.  The return units haven’t returned a kickoff for a touchdown in ages, so this should not be used in your evaluation.

6

Indianapolis

IND’s defense improved dramatically last season.  I see no reason why they cannot stay at the same level with Mathis and Frenney.

7

Dallas

DAL’s defense is slowly improving since Parcell’s arrival.  The team finally drafted the remaining linebackers they fill the 3-4 defense during this year’s draft.  Any improvement from Demarcus Ware on the pass rush will make them more formidable.

8

NY Giants

With Umenyiora, Strahan, and Arrington providing pressure, the Giants defense should generate a lot of points from sacks and INT’s.  The question is whether their suspect DB’s get better to prevent teams from gaining a lot of yardage and points.

9

Jacksonville

Jacksonville does not have many big name players, but they find a way to shut down offense (see IND games last year).  They should be just as consistent this year.

10

Baltimore

With the addition of Ngata, Ray Lewis should be freed up to cause havoc again. The big key to this defense is whether Lewis and Reed have recovered from their season ending injuries last year.  You may be able to get this defense as a good value pick in later rounds than normal.

11

Cincinnati

Cincinnati generated a lot of turnovers last year.  They should be just as effective this year.  They need to cut down on the amount of yards they were giving up, once they started playing the heart of their schedule last year.  The defense is still young and has room to improve.

12

Atlanta

Mora, Jr. is very good defensive coach.  He realizes that his defense needs to keep them in the game, else Micahel Vick could get hurt trying to drop back and pass.  Rod Coleman is the sparkplug of this unit.  He shuts down the inside running game and crushes the pocket.

13

Miami

Nick Saban has turned this team around a lot faster than everyone thought.  He even got lucky to have the Ricky Williams distractions gone for the year.  He has been known to have good defenses, and the second year under him, they should improve dramatically.

14

New England

How far did you think a Belichick defense would fall.  With Seyomour’s, Bruschi’s, and Harrison’s return for a full season, the defense should improve

15

Washington

Washington has a solid defense, but the NFC East is getting tougher and they lost Arrington.  They are still deserving of being a starting defense.

16

Buffalo

Buffalo has a good defense, but they got worn down towards the end of the year last year, because their offense was anemic.  The fact they are playing in a very tough division does not help matters any.

17

Detroit

Detroit had many good games early last year, but they fizzled down the stretch.  New coach Marinelli should be ale to help with that.

18

Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s defense slipped a lot last year.  If they do not improve the pass rush, they are at best a mediocre defense.  The pressure is what makes their DB’s look good.

19

Denver

Denver’s defense is getting a lot of play this year as being just below the elite class of defense.  I’m not buying yet.  They play in a division with teams that can score a lot of points. They have a tough schedule, but they do play SF in the final week so if you need a defense for the championship…

20

San Diego

San Diego has some good young players, but most of them are getting old.  They play in division with prolific offenses, so I am taking a wait and see approach.

21

Cleveland

Romeo Crennel is in his second year, and except for the Bengals, the division he plays in is not known for their prolific offenses.  That being said, unless you are in a large league, this is a backup defense at best.

22

NY Jets

The Jets defense was not the problem last year, and Mangini will keep it presentable, but their offense puts them in bad situations.

23

Kansas City

Herman Edwards should be able to improve the defense over time.  I’m not sure it will happen this year.  Avoid if possible.

24

San Francisco

San Francisco had a decent defense last year under Mike Nolan ( I used them situationally with success).  The only problem was that they play inconsistently last year which hurts fantasy owners.  Avoid if possible.

25

Tennessee

The Titans are still rebuilding.  Surprisingly the defense played relatively well last year.  They should be okay, but the offense will be suspect, and a potential rookie QB will not help.

26

Houston

Mario Williams can do nothing but help the Texans to get better, but only as an individual, not as a team.

27

Minnesota

The only good thing about this defense is that they had a year to gel and they plan in a division with suspect offenses.

28

Arizona

Arizona was below average defensively last year with some very good games.  Denny Green is not a defensive coach nor does he waste his time trying to be one.

29

Oakland

Most of their defensive players are old and past their prime.  That is why they gave up a lot of points last year (also playing in the AFC West didn’t help).

30

St Louis

Now that Martz has left, maybe they will focus on defense.  Nahhh.  Linehan is another offensive coach.

31

New Orleans

NO suffered a bad fate last year.  However they were undisciplined and most of their defensive talent left via free agency.  The new coach is from the offensive side of the ball, so that won’t help much.

32

Green Bay

Pathetic defense at best.  They gave up 40+ points to the Kyle Boller led Ravens.  YIKES!!!!!!