2015 NFL Fantasy Football Defense/Special Teams Ranking & Discussion

It’s time to tackle the rankings and strategy for Defense and Special Teams portion of the 2015 draft. Having a strong D/ST in Fantasy Football can really benefit your team. With that being said you shouldn’t be taking a D/ST too high. Every year there’s somebody that does it, but your picks are way better spent building depth with position players.  Here are our rankings…

Alex	Mike	Mason	JoneZ Average
1. Seahawks	1. Seahawks	1. Seahawks	1. Seahawks
2. Bills	2. Bills	2. Rams	2. Bills
3. Texans	3. Rams	3. Bills	3. Rams
4. Rams	4. Jets	4. Cardinals	4. Jets
5. Jets	5. Broncos	5. Jets	5. Broncos
6. Cardinals	6. Texans	6. Panthers	6. Cardinals
7. Dolphins	7. Dolphins	7. Broncos	7. Texans
8. Broncos	8. Ravens	8. Ravens	8. Dolphins
9. Chiefs	9. Cardinals	9. Packers	9. Ravens
10. Ravens	10. Vikings	10. Patriots	10. Chiefs
11. Lions	11. Lions	11. Dolphins	11. Lions
12. Panthers	12. Panthers	12. Texans	12. Packers
13. Vikings	13. Chiefs	13. Chiefs	13. Vikings
14. Bengals	14. Packers	14. 49ers	14. Bengals
15. Browns	15. Bengals	15. Steelers	15. 49ers

Time to attack the Defense fellas. Let’s get right to it… Who do you have #1?

Mike – The Seattle Seahawks.

Mason – Same here.

Alex – Seahawks!

Mike – You couple that pass rush with that secondary…

Mason – It’s a wrap, son!

Mike – Earl Thomas is looking a little banged up, but you still got Kam Chancellor. You got Bobby 

Wagner making tackles all over the place. It’s an explosive defense.

Alex – They score, that’s the thing. That’s important in fantasy.

Mike – Splash plays!

Who do you have at #2?

Mike – I’ve got the Bills

Mason – The St. Louis Rams.

Alex – I’ve got the Buffalo Bills as well.

Mike – I love that front four. That’s a nasty front four. I don’t think Rex Ryan has exactly what he 

wants on the corners, but they’re pretty good there. They’re just solid all-around.

Alex – Yea, they have a mean pass rush, and that just creates interceptions. Plus the sack total you get from these guys  is ridiculous. They lost Kiko Alonso, but I don’t think that’s going to matter much. With Rex Ryan’s new scheme in there I think they’re just gonna rack up sacks and turnovers.

Mason, you have the Rams in the two spot?

Mason – Yes. I think after Seattle they’re the best front seven. They’re going to force a lot of turnovers, and their special teams. I think that adds a little bit to their value. They also get to the quarterback A LOT!

Mike – That’s a nasty front four as well.

Mason – You add that together with their kickoff and punt return, and I have them over the Bills. I really like the Bills as well, I love the Bills, but I’m not sure about their special teams.

Mike – If you look at the division they play in as well. The Bills have the AFC East, but the Rams have the NFC West. Offense isn’t the first thing we talk about there.

Mason – That’s exactly why I have the Cardinals at #4. They’ve got a good special teams, and the offenses in their division are really bad. You add those together with the fact they’re a scoring defense. It’s real in Arizona.

Where do you guys have the Jets? They drafted another defensive lineman, and got Revis back along with Cromartie.

Alex – At #5 because that’s another team that can score. They got Revis and Cromatie back. You have 2 points for every interception, and they score.  I like them at five. I’ve got Houston at #3 and the Rams at #4.

Mike – I wanted to put them up at #3 instead of the Rams, but Sheldon Richardsons bummy ass getting in so much trouble. If they’d have had that they would have been unbelievable. I think it’s that big of an impact. That was a Pro Bowl defensive lineman. This Leonard Williams kid is going to be the truth. That secondary, at least at the corner position is gonna be nasty.

Mason – They’re gonna be on the field a lot, but they can handle it. I think they’ll give up a lot of yards because of it.

Alex – How about Houston though? How many TD’s does J.J. Watt score on defense on his own? How many sacks and forced fumbles does he get? They’ve got Jadeveon Clowney back healthy. We don’t know how good he’s going to be yet, but that is a mean front. They’re going to get some turnovers and a lot of sacks.

Mason – Nope. I don’t even have them in my Top 10.

Alex – J.J. Watt alone should have them in the Top 10.

Mason – I question their secondary. I don’t think they’re any good. J.J. Watt is a beast, but you can only play the Jaguars twice.

Ok… What D/ST makes the biggest jump or is the biggest surprise?

Mason – The Dolphins.

Alex – I was just about to say the Dolphins as well.

Mike – I like the Minnesota Vikings this year.

Mason – They weren’t bad last year and Adding Ndamukong Suh alone makes them better. None of their players have played with a Suh to take up that much attention. Everybody on the field gets a boost.

Alex – Exactly. Suh opens up some holes for Cameron Wake, not that he needed them before, that he’s never seen. Lamar Miller is going to be running the ball all three downs.  They’re going to be grinding it out so the defense won’t have to be on the field as much. Plus you look at the quarterbacks in the division not named Brady, and they have it pretty easy there.

Strategy when it comes to drafting defenses… You know there’s always that one person who reaches into the 9^th round and takes a D/ST. Sure enough, somebody takes another one in the 10^th. How should you go about it?

Alex – I say wait. You’re going to get a decent defense if you wait. Unless there’s a crazy run in the 13^th round or something, then move accordingly, but you can always get a solid defense late. If you have that deep sleeper that you really want, you can go up a round early to get them. I like having two defenses and playing match ups.

Mike – I agree with that.

Mason – It depends on the scoring of your league because there is a difference between 1^st and 15^th. You look at Seattle last year. They were winning games. There was that one guy that took Seattle in the 8^th round. I look at it like this, what 8^th round pick do you have that’s averaging 20 points a week like Seattle did last year. That top team won a lot of games for owners.

So what is your strategy for drafting a Seattle then? Are you taking them high?

Mason – Me personally, I’m not drafting them that high. I can get a great back up QB there or add to me RB or WR depth. I’m just explaining the thought process of drafting them high. I don’t like doing it. If they’re there in the 12^th I’m taking them. Maybe even the 10^th. If I look at my team, I have nine solid players, and can plug in that #1 defense. Yes, I’ll do that.

Mike – It’s all situational.

Mason – If you get caught playing waiver wire every week for your defense, it’ll end up Week 8 and 

you have guys getting you 2 or 3 points a week. You’re in trouble at that point. D/ST is important.

Mike – You can get a good defense off of the waiver wire. IT happens every year, but you have to strike early. It’ll dry up real quick.

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