Top 5 Defense and Special Teams Rankings for 2024 Fantasy Football

these are the five defenses with the most upside number one on the list is the New York Jets the Jets finished the year as the number four scoring defense in all of Fantasy last year this is actually very impressive if you think about how little help they got from their offense the Jets offense averaged 15.8 points per game last year good for 29th and if Aaron Rogers can stay healthy and buy them a little bit more time they should flourish the Jets were 25th in terms of time of possession last year so they were just gassed at the end of games and I think with Bree hall now being healthy and handling a full workload they should be able to control the game a lot better even in a tough situation they performed pretty well they allowed the 12 fewest points per game they had the third most interceptions in the league returning two for a touchdown they had the seventh most sacks and the sixth most Force fumbles they also have all pro Talent at every level they have quinnon Williams up front they have CJ Mosley they have S Garner obviously they also have DJ Reid who's very talented and they also have an emerging Quincy Williams who got first All Pro bid last year and if they can figure out the situation with Assan reck they would be even more potent I also love the division they play in they're going to see Drake May twice a year who's bound to make some mistakes as a rookie they also get to play Josh Allen who's obviously another world talent but he does pretty much lead the league in interceptions every year and then they get Tua who was tied for the fourth most interceptions last year as an added bonus they returned one punt for a touchdown last year so if you're looking to take a chance on a defense with a lot of upside I think the Jets are the team to take number two on the list is the the Houston Texans the Texans finished the year as the 14th highest scoring defense in fantasy last year but from weeks 13 through 18 they were number four and they actually allowed the 11th viest points per game and this defense should be much better this year they have a lot of young emerging Stars Will Anderson Jr was rookie of the year last year they also have Derek Stingley they have Christian Harris and they also had a great free agency they brought in denil Hunter on a 2-year deal and they also signed Aziz Al shaer even last year being young they were solid they had the nth most sacks they had the sixth most interceptions and the fifth most forced fumbles returning one for a touchdown it also helps that they have a great offense and they should be better in terms of controlling the clock this year last year they were 29th in terms of time of possession but they brought in Joe Mixon who should definitely help alleviate that area they also play in a pretty favorable division they played Trevor Lawrence twice a year who was tied for the fourth most interceptions they also play Anthony Richardson who was essentially a rookie because he missed most of last year and they have to play will Levis the Texans also had two kick return returns for a touchdown last year now I know the rules are a bit different around the kick returns this year but I have to think their special teams are going to be strong once again I really like that demo Ryan is the head coach of this team he's a defensive guy and I think with one more year underneath his belt he should get this defense right into the top tier number three on the list is the Baltimore Ravens the Ravens finished as the number two scoring defense in all of Fantasy last year they allowed the fewest points per game just a little bit over 16 they led the league in sacks with 60 and they were tied for the second most interceptions with 18 and they took one back back to the house they also had the fifth most forced fumbles and they had one punt return taken back for a touchdown one thing you can Bank on about this team is that this offense is going to control the clock since Lamar Jackson's been in the league they have pretty much been in the top five every year in terms of time of possession and I think that'll definitely be the case again this year especially with them adding Derrick Henry the only reason they're not higher on this list is the fact that they're going through a lot of change Mike McDonald is no longer the defensive coordinator he's now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks they lost Patrick Queen who went to the Rival Steelers and they also o lost javian Clowney ultimately I do still think they're going to be a top three defense I have a lot of faith in their new DC former Raven Zack or and they still have ran Smith who a perennial all proo they have Marlon Humphrey and they have an emerging Justin matab they also drafted Nate Wiggins in the first round so these DB should be some of the best in the league number four on the list is the San Francisco 49ers the 49ers finished as the 10th highest scoring defense in all of Fantasy last year and they truly have all pros at every level you got Nick Bosa Fred Warner Ward and taloa Huf funga they also have stars in Dre Greenlaw Jer Brown and newly drafted Malik Mustafa I think this team is going to look much better than they did last year and should be closer to where they were in 2022 when they finished as the third highest scoring defense in fantasy I also think with Javon hardgrave having another year in this system he should get back to looking like the hardgrave we saw in Philadelphia the 49ers were still solid last year they allowed the fourth Fest points per game allowing just under 19 per contest and they had the seventh most sacks with Steve Wills no longer the defensive coordinator I think they'll get back to operating how they did before trying to win up front Nick senson is now the DC he was an internal hire and is a former player who was a safety and I think him knowing how the Niners scheme Works will help these players benefit greatly the only reason they're not higher on this list is largely due to depth and injuries first taleno hufanga like I mentioned is coming back from a Tor ACL so he'll likely be brought back slowly Dr Green Love is also coming back from Ator Achilles so he'll also be likely brought back slowly and also Drake Jackson is lost for the year the other piece is depth they don't have as much depth up front as I would like they did bring in Leonard Floyd who's still very talented but he is aging and he did just recently suffered a knee sprain so it'll be interesting to see how they figure that out I do think once this defense hits their stride and all the players get up to speed they'll be much better I can see them having a better second half of the year than the first if you're looking for a defense to invest in that will probably get more points as the season goes on they're definitely one to Target number five on the list is the Cleveland Browns the Browns finish as the fifth highest scoring defense in fantasy last year and they were kind of a surprise and I think with Jim Schwarz having another year underneath his belt he should get this defense to operate at an even higher level they brought back pretty much everyone including Shelby Harris and so this front line should be intact last year they had the six most sacks the six most forc fumbles taking one back for a touchdown and the second most interceptions they also allowed the fewest yards per game and the 13th fewest points per game they also have an immense amount of talent obviously they have miles Garrett they also have denzo Ward they have Shelby Harris who I mentioned and they also have zidus Smith the Browns were also number one in terms of time of possession last year and they were actually second in 2022 and if Nick chub can get up to speed quickly I don't see why they won't finish in the top three again that is a huge boost for the defense since they won't be on the field as much lastly I want to make a quick honorable mention about the Dallas Cowboys I know the Cowboys finished as a top scoring defense in all of Fantasy last year and they've actually been number one two out of the last three years the one year they weren't they were number two I'm just a bit nervous about that because there's so much change around them for one Dan Quinn is no longer on the team he's now the head coach of the Washington commanders and while I do think Mike Zimmer's talented he's not the coach that Dan Quinn is this linebacking core is also looking a bit suspect and Trayvon Diggs is coming back from a serious knee injury they also lost Stefon Gilmore and they really haven't fixed their running back room they brought back Zeke Elliott and they have Rico dowle so I can see time of possession being an issue for this team lastly this team has become very reliant on scoring on turnovers they had five interceptions returned for touchdowns last year and I just feel like that is not sustainable those are the five defenses with the most upside thank you so much for watching 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