Re-thinking Defense For the 2024 Fantasy Football Season

Hayden's Defense Rankings for 2024 Fantasy Football we've done about 100 fantasy football shows this offseason dating all the way back to the NFL draft but we don't want this just to be a fantasy football channel we have to know some ball over here which means defensive players Corners schemes defensive lineman the whole thing so today we're going to try to wrap this thing up in one show because this entire regular season we're going to be talking about the matchups all year long so consider this like your intro the best way to do that rank these defenses number one through 32 the best Cleveland Browns defense was last Year's best defense to me the Cleveland Browns they were first in EPA per play first in success rate allowed they've got star players all across the defense miles Garrett basically the best defensive player in the NFL uh ESPN they have a pass rush win rate and in that metric they show that he was double teamed at the second highest rate and he was still number two in pass rush win rate they also have Denzel Ward who's like probably one of the few lockdown Corners absolutely in the prime of his career they have a bunch of defensive players in the secondary that probably should play some more games uh Juan Thornhill Grant delpit Greg Nome and then they were also first in Run Stop win rate so they basically don't have a weakness uh they were the best defense last year and I'm expecting that to be the case once again Baltimore Ravens number two Baltimore Ravens this was the second best defense in terms of EPA there were six best in success rate last year the difference is they have a lot of moving pieces they lost to Davon clone who actually had like a really good year last year they lose linebacker Patrick Queen so they don't have like the Elite pass rush that the Browns get but their secondary is awesome Kyle Hamilton kind of a Swiss Army Knife Guy over the middle roquan Smith that's a pro bowl linebacker and I think maybe like the new addition that keeps me pretty optimistic with the Ravens is first round rookie Corner Nate Wiggins I rank all these uh incoming rookies over on the underdog Network he was my 20th overall player the draft like a freaky freaky athlete lots of man coverage they also have Marlon Humphrey they also have Justin matuk who I believe was like the lead leager in sacks last year for defensive tackle so yeah they lost a lot of coaches here but there's just way too many Star players uh on the Baltimore Ravens to be very pessimistic number New York Jets three the New York Jets this team could really stop the run last year they were third in ESPN's run stop rate they have quinnon Williams they have Javon kinlaw they have great linebackers the hard part with this is just figuring out the edge rushers because the Jets don't Blitz they were actually number two uh in the least amount of blitzes last season they want to win with pass rush naturally getting home but they lost Bryce Huff who was like a situational pass rusher and they're trying to get him back with Hassan reic who's still in the contract dispute and even if Hassan reic is out there there he's probably not as good as Bryce Huff all that said if you can stop the run you have S Gardner out there you have a good defensive minded head coach this un know will still probably be pretty damn good Kansas City Chiefs before we get to the Chiefs we have to get to the underdog promo right now we have a Travis Kelce special on the app 0 five yards for week one obviously we're going to be taking the higher on that one how do you get that you use promo code the show over on Underdog fantasy that's going to give you a couple things everyone's going to get the Travis Kelsey special if you use promo code the show you're also going to get a Bree Hall special which is 0.5 yards on the Sunday Night Football game you're going to get a deposit match bonus if you're new here that's 50% of your $1,000 it's a lot we got a lot of stuff going on we have vultures there's more promos that I can even come up with right now so make sure to use promo code to show that's how you support Josh and I now we have the the Chiefs this is a tough one because I love lerus Sneed who they just got rid of that's their top corner but they have Trent McDuffy who's maybe the best nickel Corner in the NFL there's a chance he's going to play more in the perimeter this year they still have Ste Steve Spagnola who is a complete Mastermind as a defensive coordinator they still have Chris Jones who according to ESPN was double teamed on 72% of his pass rush snaps by far the most among any defense attackable and he still led the position in pass rush win rate so they they have some depth guys at Edge rusher the linebackers aren't crazy the depth in the secondary not crazy but Chris Jones Trent McDuffy Steve spagnolo that's enough for me up Chicago Bears next we have the Chicago Bears who were pretty good down the stretch this is one of these defenses I think are really going to take another step this year from week nine on they were fifth in EPA per play ninth in success rate that's when they added Montes sweat their Edge rusher they secondary is like the true Difference Maker uh for me Jaylen Johnson he's a top end Corner Tyreek Stevenson that's a nice number two Corner Kyler Gordon great slot Corner they have two great safeties as well they have taine Edmonds a linebacker who's like really really rangy and then they were already fourth best in rushing EPA so there's not like a lot of depth on the defensive line new defensive coordinator as well this secondary is just like awesome so I think it's going to be one of the teams where they're quietly going to be one of the toughest to go up against down the stretch Pittsburgh Steelers are at number six for me they were seventh in EPA last Pittsburgh Steelers year eighth in success rate TJ watt's back M Fitzpatrick's back keano Benton their defensive tackle he's a good player Patrick Queen he's in town now they still have Cam Hayward Alex heith it's a lot of the same players out there the new addition from last year was Joey Porter who I thought was a pretty sweet corner he was really physical kind of more of an up up in your grid type of player we know the Steelers are going to be good they don't have like enough true true Elite guys like TJ watt M Fitzpatrick really good players they're not like your miles Garrett players so I think they're one tier down from the true Elite guys but we know what this team's going to be they're always top 10 Houston Texans up next Houston Texans this is another one that where I think we're going to have a big leap here Will Anderson the rookie first rounder this was pretty crazy he was already third in pass rush win rate on the fourth most double teams as a rookie and he was also really good against the Run they add denil Hunter maybe the best onew Edge group in the NFL uh denil Hunter he was 12th in past rust win rate last season they have Derek Stingley who made a couple plays this preseason made a lot of plays down the stretch last season they free safety jayen Petri he's awesome they add a new linebacker al-aziz Al shaer and then they were all already last year first and yards before contact so this is like one of the teams where they're kind of stars in studs but they got a lot of studs and I think that if everything Clicks in Deo Ryan just as being a good coach this is one of these teams where I think they're going to go from like pretty mediocre last year to potentially like a very solid top 10 Defense number eight Detroit Lions one Detroit Lions probably surprises you if you haven't been paying attention to what the offseason has been going down with obviously everyone knows Aiden Hutchinson seventh in pff's pass rush win rate uh Brian Branch their strong safety you'll see him over the middle he's one of the best uh secondary players in the league very versatile they have some speed at linebacker uh they have a young defensive tackle Lee mcneel who's could definitely get up field as well but they added a lot of pieces Beyond those guys uh first round rookie Corner tyon Arnold really instinctive really smart was just basically not making many mistakes at Alabama he was my 19th overall Prospect in the draft you get DJ reer the new defensive tackle he's a veteran Marcus Davenport he's going to be the new Edge two behind Aiden Hutchinson and then in the red zone They gave up a touchdown at the 29th highest rate and they also gave up a ton of big plays those are like two stats that typically kind of regress so the lions were in a lot of shootouts last year I don't know this team has like a lot of good players uh maybe not any true stars but they pretty much can plug up a lot of their spots and I also forgot to mention Carlton Davis from the Buccaneers that's going to be their new cornerback one so lots of New pieces for Detroit Lions and regression on their side number nine Jacksonville Jaguars this is one where I'm putting a lot of faith in their new defensive coordinator Jacksonville Jaguars Ryan neelen he came from the Falcons last year who were fifth in success rate in the Falcons defense not really littered with a bunch of talent Jacksonville has a bunch of dudes they were 12th in success rate last year 13th in EPA uh they have Trayvon Walker who's kind of been a more of a bust first overall pick but he's still got a lot of athletic traits Josh Hines Allen uh that's a new name that's Josh Allen for for those uh who know the other Josh Allen he was second in pff's pass rush win rate last season as well they acquired a defensive tackle Darnell Savage kind of a versatile piece in the secondary Ronald Darby he's probably going to be their number two Corner they already had a good first uh CB1 and Tyson Campbell Andre Cisco he's coming off of four interceptions last year as a free safety so basically up front and in the secondary they got a lot to work with I think it's one of the most promising defensive coordinator so Jacksonville kind of a sneaky top 10 defense now number 10 the Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys new defensive coordinator with Mike Zimmer this team has got a lot of moving parts to it obviously Micah Parsons He just might be the best defensive player definitely the best pound-for-pound defensive player he's going to play a little bit of linebacker he's best off the edge their linebackers are are small or old or both uh their first round defensive tackle Mozy Smith he barely saw the field last year training camp reports haven't been promising with him so there's not a lot of depth at the on the interior they were really bad against the run down the stretch last year like like really really bad and then the secondary it's a lot of injuries Trayvon Diggs coming back from ACL tear he's really good when he's fully ready to go but we'll see there uh their number two Corner donon Bland he had all those pick sixes last year really aggressive Corner he's probably going to miss about a month of the Season as well with a training camp injury so they have michah Parson they have m Zimmer that's good but the rest of this has a lot of question marks too so I want to put Michael Parsons give him the benefit of the doubt put him as a top 10 defense they have been that at times uh for the last couple years but there's a lot more holes this year than what we are used to Las Vegas Raiders another underrated defense they have a Las Vegas Raiders good defensive coordinator and Patrick Graham everybody knows Max Crosby the big edit here is just Christian Wilkins defensive tackle they gave him about a billion dollars uh last year he faced a ton of double teams which should be nice because One Max Crosby gets double teamed a ton here and now you open up opportunities for him first round Edge rusher Tyreek Jackson we see if he can uh be brought along a little bit if there's more room to operate they need to make some moves on the defensive line uh because they were 26 in pressure rate last year getting in Christian Wilkins definitely is going to be a big deal for them uh down the stretch they looked pretty good as well from week nine on they were EPA number one defense they played some really bad quarterbacks so don't get too carried away there but getting cornerback Jack Jones in the mix definitely going to help him there so uh this team closed the season out they add Christian Wilkins uh that's pretty much good enough for me to bring the Raiders to number 11 number 12 the San Francisco San Francisco 49ers 49ers last year's defense just like never never really clicked they were 10th in EPA 15th in success rate when Josh and I were like previewing the the Super Bowl this team just like did not have enough answers to the test so that's why they changed their defensive coordinator like they would never Blitz they would never change the picture post Snap it was a really static defense Nick Bosa didn't have his best season coming off of that hold out uh Fred Warner obviously a fantastic player but his uh running mate Drake Greenlaw he popped his Achilles in the Super Bowl talanoa hu funga the strong safety he's coming off a Tor ACL the cornerback two the nickel the free safety not a whole lot of elite players anymore lots of New Edge rushers defensive tackles is pretty much just a one for one swap across the board so I think last year's like 10th EP is kind of what I'm expecting here for San Francisco 49ers they really need Nick B to like bounce back to that like truly Elite tier he was maybe one spot beneath where he typically was last year Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers up next this is one where they have not lived up to their just overall Talent level last year they were 23rd in EPA 26 in success rate they have seven first rounders on defense that's that's ludicrous uh a lot of them just did not play enough last year like Jer Alexander nine games Eric Stokes their other corner he played two games Lucas van their their Edge rusher he was a rookie last year he played 444 snaps so there's a lot of uh upside here if they can all come together they add a really nice safety Xavier mckin they add another safety second rounder in the draft and Javon Bard they have a new defensive coordinator and then they have guys like ran Gary who was already 19th in pass rush win rate last year uh defensive tackle Kenny Clark was 18th in pass rush win rate as well uh this team's got a lot of depth and hopefully they can all come together Edan Cooper uh first round linebacker as well there's just a bunch of guys here they've never really lived up to their hype but hopefully uh with a new defensive coordinator they can start figuring things out number 14 the New England Patriots and I got to shout out New England Patriots my new cooworker bill bich over here you guys probably heard of him he was a head coach or defensive coordinator for 38 years he finished with the fewest points allowed five times he finished outside the top 17 just once that's over 38 years through the Browns through the Patriots I don't know just losing him seems like a pretty damn big deal they also lose Matthew judon who they just traded to the Falcons in August last year they were already 27th in pass rush win rate because judon only played four games Christian barmore who's probably their best or second best player he hasn't been practicing because of blood clots that's a defense of tackle we don't know if he's going to be playing much if at all this entire season they get Christian Gonzalez back that was their top corner he looked really good uh in a short stint last year but he's coming off in ACL this seems like a team that was like been top three top five for the last couple years that are just losing a lot of key players here so they really need Christian Gonzalez to be one of the best corners in the league he has a potential to do that but once again losing coach going to be pretty much impossible to overcome the Philadelphia Eagles are at number 15 they were terrible last year but pretty much Philadelphia Eagles everything has changed they were 29th in EPA allowed that's why you go bring in uh defensive coordinator Vic fangio one of the best in the entire league that's why you trade for Bryce Huff who's as quick as anybody coming off the edge he was fifth in pass rush win rate they are swapping him for Assan reick who's classic Jets still in the hold out they bring back CJ Gardner Johnson he's going to be a versatile weapon in the secondary Cooper Dee the second round Corner he's a versatile piece in the secondary quinan Mitchell might be like a true lock down Corner uh he was a first rounder both those draft picks were top 25 guys in my opinion they have three first rounders on the defensive line that's a lot of talent to work with for Vic fangio so going from 29th to 15th that should be a win for the Eagles but I honestly think that they can be even higher than this they just have a lot of young guys who I think are pretty damn talented uh so if Quin and Mitchell could hit if these defensive linemen can hit uh I think the Eagles have the beginnings of what could be a top 10 defense Atlanta Falcons are on the Atlanta Falcons opposite end of this they lose their defensive coordinator uh Ryan neelon who's with the Jacksonville Jaguars but they made a trade for Matthew judon this month they added one of the best safeties and Justin Simmons they already had one of the best safeties and Jessie Bates so it's pretty much the best safety duo in the NFL AJ Terrell's a very good top corner Grady Jarrett defensive tackle he's coming off an ACL injury but he's always been really productive so this is one of like one of these very stars and scrubs defenses with a new defensive coordinator that just seems like a the 16th best defense in the league so very curious to see how uh this one works out because they have a lot of talent but a couple of those guys just got with the team Buffalo Bills come in at number 17 coach sea mcder has this unit playing Buffalo Bills better than their overall Talent they do a lot on their week toe matchups is something that Josh and I always talk about on our ranking shows for fantasy football stuff but they've bled a lot of starters uh Matt Milano linebacker really good covering tight ends he tore his biceps right before the season so he's going to be out for a while they've lost a lot of like veterans uh in the secondary we still don't exactly know who's going to be their starting safeties this year which has been a pretty big deal for Shawn McDermot because he asked a lot from that group like dear Hamlin or a rookie might end up starting over there they have a good like depth at the defensive line at Oliver is obviously really good but they like really need Greg rouso or AJ EPA to like become a true topend guy last year the Bills in general were 14th in success rate allowed not that much pressure it was mostly just the coverages kind of just making up for pretty average defense 18th the Tennessee Titans Tennessee Titans and I honestly probably need to move them up once again they just traded for Ernest Jones a linebacker and one of my notes uh in this blurb was that they had an underwhelming linebacker Duo Jones made a million tackles for the Rams last year uh this team was already third best in yards before contact against the run because they have Jeffrey Simmons who's just a total monster at defensive tackle they draft a second round defensive tackle and dandre sweat in the draft and then the secondary they go grab lerus sne from the Chiefs who can play Man coverage as a quarterback one chobia wer he's a fine enough quarterback two quandre Diggs comes over that's a safety as well so they needed to make a lot of adjustments because they were 31st in passing success rate last season but they really did add about five potential starters uh plus starters potentially so the Titans Go from like one of the worst defenses in the League last year to being probably average to to above average so uh good work by the front office to to go and find trade draft uh a bunch of plus players number 19 the Seattle Seahawks they get the defensive coordinator that everybody was on the Seattle Seahawks hunt for in McDonald as their head coach the Seahawks needed to fix a lot of issues they were 30th in EPA 30th in success rate last season they were 31st in rushing EPA allowed so it was it was basically everything was going wrong um which is pretty surprising because their nickel Corner Devon Witherspoon is an absolute stud they have a lot of stuff going on with their linebackers lots of stuff going on with their Edge group gr um a lot of new faces in general Jamal Adams he's out of there as well the guy that they really need to make this thing work is first round defensive tackle Byron Murphy he can pass rush from the interior that's something that you see if you study the McDonald defense with the Ravens Justin mbuk is the latest example of a defensive tackle that can actually generate pressure that's really what gets this whole thing uh together so this might too much Blind Faith in just a scheme um but I really like Witherspoon and I really like McDonald here so uh we'll see if the Seahawks can go for one of the worst defenses in the league um to just average that would be a huge win for their Wild Card chances Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins are at number 20 here last year's defense was pretty solid they were second in pressure rate but then down the stretch man nobody ran worse Jaylen Phillips he pops in Achilles we have Bradley chub he pops in ACL Vic fangio leaves Christian Wilkins makes a billion dollars in free agency zaven Howard he's a cut candidate Andrew van GLE he's over with the Minnesota Vikings at this point so they've lost that's a lot of guys from last year's unit uh I do like the defensive coordinator that they brought in Anthony Weaver comes from Baltimore they still have Jaylen Ramsey as the corner back one could play inside or outside for them their first rounder uh chop Robinson was a really undersized Speedster type I'm not sure if he's going to be an every down player so we'll see if Phillips and chub can come back look like themselves here but really a lot of guys left the building so I would not be surprised if Miami drops from like a top 10 defense from last year down to 20th or maybe even lower than this New York Giants are up next the big addition here was Brian burn New York Giants from the Carolina Panthers that's perfect for Kavon Tibido is's probably not a true number one Edge rusher him being the second Edge rusher is a win they have Dexter Lawrence one of the best defensive tackles on the interior the defensive line really no questions asked the secondary lots of questions to ask here their cornerback one Deontay Banks that's a first round pick from last year kind of a boom bus player really athletic has the potential to be like a lock down man coverage cornerback one but we'll see about that going to his second season and then he's going to be surrounded by some youngsters the slot Corner Drew Phillips uh he was a third round pick in the draft he was actually one of my favorite players to watch uh coming up I had him as a second round draft pick there's a chance that he's going to be the slot Corner second rounder he's a safety Tyler nuben I thought he was more of a third round pick but that's fine the second goes to a third third third and second it's going to be fine uh but that's two potential rookies starting in the secondary the depth pretty much non-existent so they really need Deontay Banks to turn into a guy but if you get Brian Burns Dexter Lawrence a breakout Corner Kavon Tibido that could be enough for this Giants team to be a little bit more surprising than what the market thinks these next two teams are honestly Tampa Bay Buccaneers hilarious to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers uh led by coach Todd BS they Blitz at the third highest rate they give up the second highest boom rate which is just like explosives down the field we'll see if they do that again they lose Carlton Davis their top Corner um to the Lions this year they still have Levante David who's been with the team Forever at linebacker maybe the best safety duo in the NFL um and then they have a lot of depth on the the defensive line uh vitaa might be the best nose tackle in the game Yaya diabi kijah cany Logan Hall Chris brazwell that's a lot of guys at Edge rusher um to work with here so I think they have some talent to work with not sure about the cornerback group uh with Tampa Bay at this point but Todd bulls will get you fired up just based upon how much he's going to Blitz uh opposing quarterbacks so like some of these rookie quarterbacks against Todd BS is like truly hilarious to watch speaking Minnesota Vikings of Brian Flores with the Minnesota Vikings he blitzed on 52% of the passing snaps last year 52 that's freaking ridiculous um what's hilarious about them is they'll put like a million guys at the defensive line as well like they'll bring their linebackers in they'll bring their slot player in they'll bring a corner and a free safety all next to the line of scrimmage and then they'll rotate their coverages after the snap they were second in yard yards before contact against the run because they have all those guys at the line of scrimmage they lose denil hunter who had 16 and a half sacks last year they're replacing him with Jonathan grenard Andrew van Ginko those are like solid Edge rushers Dallas Turner first round Edge rusher he has the highest upside but he's going to be a rookie it's really hard to replace Neil Hunter their safeties and Corners are among the worst in the league that's why I think Brian Flores blitzes so much he's just like trying to create a play out of nothing they got pretty desperate this off season uh Stefan Gilmore and then they have Harrison Smith still at safety I don't know um I like watching Flores he makes the most out of this defense but they don't have like a dude on the team right now unless Dallas Turner shows up immediately number 24 the New Orleans Saints this is like the New Orleans Saints same damn defense uh they add Chase young who's probably a bigger name than what his actual impact is they draft Kool-Aid mckinstry that's a corner uh I think he's like the long-term answer to Marshon Latimore uh who I don't think he's going to get traded it's pretty late into the offseason at this point but it's a weird kind of contract in injury history with Marshon ladimore so that's something to to kind of watch but this is a really old defense um aside from Kool-Aid mckinstry and last year the Saints they were 28th in pressure rate against the past 27th in yards before contact against the run so good linebacker play they usually make the most out of their secondary but like running it back like the same defense for like the fifth or sixth straight year um we'll see what the results are we'll go rapid fire on the last ones Cincinnati Bengals because I don't see a whole lot from these groups here Cincinnati Bengals they were 30 first in success rate last year they lost their top Corner they lost their top interior player and DJ reader they do have better safeties which was a huge problem for Cincinnati Lou anarumo is one of these like matchup guys on a week- to week basis who really needs his safeties to allow them to kind of just change the look on a week- toe basis so that's the good news for the Bengals but they don't really have a bunch of like Alpha guys out there in general the Rams they lose Aaron Donald obviously they were 20th in EPA last year with Aaron Donald they just traded away their really productive linebacker a week before the draft they always make the most out of a bunch of no namers they drafted uh two Florida State guys an edge rusher and Jared verse a second rounder defensive tackle and Braden Fisk we'll see not a lot of big names with the Los Angeles Rams a lot of new faces in the secondary though so uh maybe they make them most out of it Chargers are at 27th uh there's a chance RAPID FIRE that they look better than this I really like what Jesse Minter did at Michigan that's a new defensive coordinator but there's just like not a lot of depth khil Mack he's good but he's older Joey Bosa he's good but he's injured once again jwin James hasn't been the same player as his name in a while so we'll see they they spent all their offseason resources on the offense not a whole lot to work with and this defense has not been very good for a while commanders last year dead last in EPA allowed new linebackers couple second round picks uh defensive tackle Johnny Newton a new slot player as well I like the defensive tackles but I don't really like the rest of it um we'll see if Dan Quinn can make the most out of it 29th Indianapolis Colts honestly a really underrated defensive line but their secondary is basically as bad as it gets they need second rounder Juju brinz from last year to step up at at corner they need latu latu that's a first round Edge rusher out of UCLA to step up otherwise they really are not going to be able to handle uh the secondary so I think one of these units where if you have a good wide receiver one pretty much over for the Indianapolis Colts number 30 the Denver Broncos pater tan you should be scared of them if you have a fantas going against him probably the best corner in the NFL but there's really not a whole lot aside from him they lose their safety really experienced player a pro bowl level guy didn't have enough cash they're paying Russell Wilson a bunch of money uh to find notable upgrades and last year they were 29th in pressure rate 32 in yards before contact against the run so it's Pat San and basically nobody else until proven otherwise number 31 Carolina Panthers you don't swap Brian Burns for jvon clowney and call that a day that concerns me they were already 32 in pressure rate last year we'll see what JC horn does that's a corner uh really athletic guy uh former first rounder but this team really injured right now and was really bad last season and then we have the Arizona Cardinals they're trying on offense I like the coaching staff they can surprise a team here and there they just don't have enough guys yet last year 31st in pressure rate 31st in success rate 32nd in EPA their first round defensive tackle Edge hybrid type of player he just showed up with an injury as well so lot to prove for the Arizona Cardinals lot to prove for me going into week one really helpful to actually go through all these rosters find the strengths and weaknesses it's stuff that Josh and I are going to be talking about the entire year um starting week one right away talk about these matchups we'll obviously learn a ton once we get tape and snap counts and ESPN's pressure rates and all that fun stuff if you're still with me 40 minutes in to a Labor Day Edition for defensive players you are truly sick I'm truly sick for doing this video uh the only way to help us out use promo code the show make sure to subscribe to this channel lots of promotions on the app uh tons of bestall contest still if you have uh a couple hours to get a couple drafts in as well so promo code the show tons of specials like subscribe comment I'm sure I'm wrong on all these defenses I'm sure you guys know way more bald than me leave a comment tell me why I'm wrong peace [Music] losing steam weave and losing Steam