No, they still have not really replaced the top-end talent of Earl Thomas at safety after releasing him last offseason. But this was a top unit last year seventh in yards, second in points, ninth in DVOA , Don Martindale is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league, and the Ravens are still absolutely stacked everywhere. Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison up the middle. DeShon Elliott and Chuck Clark at safety. They drafted Shaun Wade -- one of the nation's best slot corners in before he got torched as an outside corner in -- in the fifth round and landed diminutive ball-hawk Ad'Darius Washington as an undrafted free agent.
Once again, this should be a high-floor, high-ceiling unit. As high a hopes as I have for the Ravens, they are even higher for the Browns.
They should be the most improved defense in the league. John Johnson III might have been the best free-agent signing of the offseason, a perfect match of skill set and team need. He'll diversify the team's coverages with his ability to play center field and rotate into two-high looks, and to make plays on the ball. The one thing keeping me from anointing the Browns with the No. The Bucs have that in spades. They return all 22 starters from last season's defense that ranked sixth in yards, eighth in points, and fifth in DVOA.
Britt to develop behind Lavonte David and Devin White. They've still got Todd Bowles. But that shouldn't be a major drawback, for the most part.
Did you know that Washington finished second in yards, fourth in points, and third in DVOA last season? Now, the Rams will indeed miss Brandon Staley, who coached this unit to a No. Safety John Johnson 's relocation to Cleveland is another blow, but clearly Fuller's immediate impact factored into L. Todd Bowles is a fantastic defensive coordinator, and he has incredible tools to work with in Tampa. General manager Jason Licht gave the Bucs a fantastic opportunity to repeat as Super Bowl champs by keeping the band together, including re-upping sack artist Shaq Barrett and defensive heartbeat Lavonte David.
Where is the weakness on this unit? On the second level, David and Devin White comprise a spectacular linebacking duo. And the Bucs are flush with young, rapidly improving talent in the secondary. Remember what happened the last time we saw this unit in a real game? Tampa Bay held Patrick Mahomes and Co.
Stunning stuff. Get ready to see more of it in the coming months. I love the Colts defense, led by energetic and smart coordinator Matt Eberflus.
The man gets the most out of the defensive talent at his disposal -- and there's plenty of it heading into the campaign.
It all starts, of course, with Darius Leonard. He just became the highest-paid inside linebacker in league history , and for good reason: He's a freak and a stat-stuffing machine, as the only NFL player with plus tackles and plus sacks over the past three seasons, per NFL Research.
First-round pick Kwity Paye , another athletic freak, will give the Colts even more juice up front. Meanwhile, veteran CB Xavier Rhodes just enjoyed a fine bounceback season, while Julian Blackmon and Khari Willis form one of the better young safety tandems in the league.
I won't bat an eye if Indy fields the elite defense in -- that was a bold prediction I tossed out back in May , and I fully believe this unit can be sensational. Always bank on Baltimore. Don "Wink" Martindale is a fine coordinator, having fielded a top-three scoring defense in each of his three seasons on the job.
Credit is due to general manager Eric DeCosta, who put together an excellent brew of defensive players, as always. Let's go front to back It's what they do. At linebacker, it really feels like Patrick Queen is going to break out into stardom in Year 2.
He was everywhere in the preseason opener , piling up four tackles two for loss and a sack in just 20 snaps. The secondary is headlined by the stellar CB duo of Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters , but the unit is exceedingly deep and talented.
In today's offense-centric league, that's quite an accomplishment. It's not a hot take. Garrett had nine sacks in the first seven weeks last year, but injuries and COVID took a heavy toll in the second half of the season. If Garrett stays healthy, he's going to enjoy a monster campaign -- especially now that he has a viable pass-rushing partner in fellow former No. Turnovers are not as heavily correlated with allowing points. Yards allowed and efficiency stats like pass completions and yards per carry are going to be correlated with points and being a strong defense.
Each column is broken down by defensive stats, and where each teams ranks within the league. If you see a team with the same number as another, that is because they are tied within that statistic.
Starting from left to right, we look at the more important stats that can tie everything together. With points and yards allowed being the big indicator of a defense, you can see who dominates these areas, but also who struggles. Fantasy points are also a big part of the NFL game. Those who are curious to see who is ranking tops in fantasy points, it is shown here.
When looking at a pass defense and how they are doing, grouped together is pass yards against, pass attempts against, pass completions, and pass touchdowns against.
You can also measure how much volume a defense is seeing through the air. The same stats can apply for rushing numbers against a defense. Red zone numbers and the ability to stop teams on third and fourth down are also shown.
These are important stats for seeing how a defense operates. Turnovers and sacks are also important stats to see what defenses are producing. Sometimes a defense is going to have things stacked against them, such as a poor offense on their own side.
A high turnover offense is going to put your team in bad situations, which could be simply field position. An offense that gives the opposing offense a ball at the 50 yard or even in their own territory is going to automatically put your defense in a bad spot.
Offenses that turn the ball over or are continuously going three and out put their defense on the field more than they should be on. This is where fatigue sets in and playing a massive amount of snaps in a game is going to cause late game struggles as well as a strong defense against the run. Even an offense that puts up plenty of points can make a defense look worse than what they are. Offenses that jump out to leads and put up big numbers force teams to throw the ball.
Because moving the ball through the air is highly correlated with scoring at higher levels, you can see more points because of this. The loaded Chiefs offense has a good defense as well, but they might allow more points because they are on the field more due to the efficiency and volume of points that their offense is putting up.
When looking at it from the offensive side, we know red zone stats are very important. We want teams to score when they are that close to the end zone. On the defensive side, it is very much the same. There is not much more deflating than moving a drive down to only kick a field goal, or worse, come away with no points.
When looking at the red zone stats, we will start with volume. How many times are defenses allowing teams to get into the red zone. We saw this a few years back with the Patriots, who allowed a lot red zone trips to opposing offenses, but they also did not allow a ton of points.
That is because their red zone defense was one of the best in the league. The Chiefs were like this in , where they were in the bottom third of the league in volume for opposing offenses, but they ranked 9th in red zone touchdown percentage. Red zone touchdown percentage is the amount of times an offense comes away with a touchdown after entering the red zone. You can plug more up on the defensive side and make it tougher on an offense. Being able to come away with stops is a big momentum killer for an opposing offense and to state the obvious the defense is going to want to limit points anyway.
If you are looking at matchups for your fantasy team, you might want to see how opposing defenses are doing. Looking at the matchup for your running back, is that defense allowing a lot of yards or touchdowns is a common question asked.
You might want to look at volume as well. Teams that are allowing a lot of rushing attempts against their defense will help you project volume, which is a higher weight for bigger fantasy production. Teams that are allowing a lot of rushing attempts could simply just have a bad run defense where opposing teams just decide to pound the rock, or they are constantly losing games. After abandoning the run game 1.
New Orleans is loaded with defensive talent, especially inside the front seven. But the secondary could be an issue in Week 10 against A. Brown and Julio Jones. Tampa Bay is allowing But those numbers have come with a vastly depleted secondary. Count on them dominating Washington in Week This unit allowed Chicago to put up total yards of offense and nearly lost it for the Steelers.
Los Angeles did nothing to lose its prestigious spot in our rankings. Jalen Ramsey made multiple big plays and this secondary held A. Brown and Julio Jones to a combined 77 receiving yards on 15 targets. The matchup is even more favorable because San Francisco lost its right tackle, creating an even bigger weakness for Miller to attack. Los Angeles is a safe bet for three sacks and a takeaway.
Anytime a defense holds its opponent out of the end zone and under total yards, they deserve to win. While the Buffalo Bills certainly had an easy task in Week 9, facing a Jacksonville Jaguars offense without James Robinson, they got the job done. Nine points allowed, only 3.
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