By John Sarianides
Defense wins championships right? Well, not in fantasy football. A good defense can boast your weekly point total and supplement your offensive production but it won’t win you your league.
Despite that, I am a firm believer in having a defense that consistently gets you points. This is especially important if you are in a league that rewards you for points against and holding an opponent to a certain yardage total.
Having a good defense is important. Don’t take it for granted and wait too long to take one in your draft. Don’t also be that fantasy player who does the weekly match up thing with your defense. That’s dumb!
Here are my top 20 defenses for 2017.
1. Denver Broncos: It will be interesting to see what changes new head coach Vance Joseph makes but on paper, this defense has the talent to once again be the top fantasy defense in the NFL.
2. Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks scored 113 points last season in standard scoring leagues. Seattle finished with 42 sacks which was a pleasant surprise. The Seahawks still have an elite secondary despite some issues and age. If Seattle can continue to pressure the quarterback and the Legion of Boom bounces back, the Seahawks will once again put up points on a weekly basis.
3. Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs scored 140 points in standard scoring leagues last season. That was good for fourth best in the NFL. The Chiefs only tallied 28 sacks as a team but they generated 33 turnovers. That what makes me them appealing from a fantasy standpoint.
4. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings scored a whooping 157 points last season in standard scoring leagues. Minnesota had 41 sacks and finished with 27 turnovers and 7 defensive touchdowns. They finished in the top ten in fantasy scoring eight times last season. Will they replicate those numbers this season? Probably not but they’ll still be pretty good.
5. Houston Texans: The Texans have high end talent defensively. They will keep good offenses in check on a weekly basis but J.J Watt needs to come back healthy because the Texans sacks numbers took a hit last season.
6. New England Patriots: I am all in on the Patriots defense this season. New England boasts the best secondary in the league. That means Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will be willing to blitz more which means the Patriots sack totals will go up. The Patriots should top their 117 point total from a season ago.
7. Arizona Cardinals: Arizona tallied 48 total sacks last season in a 143 point season. When you think of elite defenses, you don’t think of the Cardinals. Keep them in mind. They are better defensively than you think.
8. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers only scored 101 points in what was a disappointing season for them defensively. With a healthy Luke Kuechly back and Julius Peppers back in the Queen City, the Panthers should be better defensively. A young secondary will need to play better for Carolina. New defensive coordinator Steve Wilks should get more out of them.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags only totalled 75 fantasy points last season but I suspect that number will jump up 35-40 points this season. The additions of Calais Campbell, A.J Bouye and Barry Church will make a huge difference.
10. New York Giants: The Giants had a great year from a fantasy standpoint finishing with 117 points in 2016. The turnover numbers weren’t there but the Giants did notch 35 and they scored four defensive touchdowns. The Giants only gave 284 points last season.
11. Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers have always been underrated defensively. Case in point. They scored 109 points last season. They had 35 sacks, 28 turnovers and scored 5 defensive touchdowns. So why did they only score 109 points? They gave 423 points on the season and 5.554 yards. New defensive coordinator Gus Bradley will try to get those numbers under control this season.
12. Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens had a terrific bounce back season scoring 118 points in 2016. Baltimore finished with 31 sacks and 28 total turnovers. The Ravens have always been a fall back defense for people. They are good ol reliable and that is what they will be once again this season.
13. Philadelphia Eagles: Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz turned around a unit that was a mess under Chip Kelly. The Eagles had a top ten fantasy defense last season after finishing with 34 sacks, 26 turnovers and 5 defensive touchdowns. The Eagles scored 127 points. I am not sure they will produce the same this season but don’t overlook this group if you are late in your draft and they are still on the board.
14. Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons only scored 88 fantasy points last season but with the return of Desmond Trufant and the additions of Tak McKinley, the Falcons will improve defensively. It would not surprise me if Atlanta end up somewhere between 110-115 points.
15. Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins are breaking in a new defensive coordinator in Matt Burke so it’ll be interesting to see what changes Burke makes. The talent is in place for the Dolphins to score between 95-105 points and be a decent starting defense.
16. Tampa Bay Bucs: The Bucs scored 108 points last season. They finished with 38 sacks, 29 turnovers and 4 touchdowns. Those are pretty good numbers. This defense is young and talented. Don’t sleep on them.
17. Los Angeles Rams: The Rams were a disappointment last season scoring only 72 points for the season. Veteran defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is one of the best defensive minds in the history of the league. He will find a way to get more out of this young but talented defense.
18. Washington Redskins: The Redskins have a lot of young talent on the defensive side of the ball. They finished fifth in the league in forced fumbles last season and ninth in sacks. New defensive coordinator Greg Manusky will run the 3-4 defense and he will turn up the pressure. That will help the Skins statistically.
19. Oakland Raiders: I shouldn’t put the Raiders on this list but I believe in them and their talent. People in your draft will pass on them. You might not want to do that. The Raiders will be sitting there in final two rounds of your draft and you should take them.
20. Buffalo Bills: The Bills had 39 sacks last season and scored 3 touchdowns. They only scored 81 points last season. They were pretty good at times. I think they will play more disciplined defense under Sean McDermott and that could be good enough for an additional 20 points on the season.