Frey’s Fantasy Focus: Four Must Draft Defenses
Josh Frey
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As the saying goes, defense wins championships. Defenses are often overlooked in fantasy drafts, but they come in handy for those close matchups. 2020 may also be a year where we see more defenses thrive than normal due to one thing: there are zero to very limited fans in the stands.
Teams will probably pump in crowd noise, but nothing that is pumped in can compare to the roar of 60,000+ screaming at the tops of their lungs right? Even if it does, you can bet that the stadium will be dead silent when the home defense is on the field. For the first time, defenses (and us) will truly be able to hear everything that is called at the line of scrimmage, but unlike you and me, the defense will probably have a pretty good idea of what it all means. They will be able to anticipate everything much better than they have been in the past, leading to the potential of more dominant defensive play in 2020.
The best teams in the league often have the most consistent defenses. Not only is a good defense good for championships, but it is also good for your mental health. It’s a lot easier to be stress-free going into any given Sunday when you don’t have to scramble through the free agency list for a defense that MIGHT have an opportunity for a good week. Here are a few defenses that you need to draft in order to have consistency at the position.
- Pittsburgh Steelers
When you think of consistency, this team says it all. They struggled early on last year, but they quickly figured things out and turned in a great year. They were consistently awesome across the board in 2019 ranking fifth or higher in forced turnovers, yards allowed, points allowed, and led the league in sacks. Anchored by early DPOY candidate, T.J. Watt, the team also returns their entire starting core to begin 2020. Couple that with a schedule that features Washington, rookie quarterback Joe Burrow (twice), and an AFC South division that will probably struggle offensively, and this defense should absolutely thrive in 2020.
2. Buffalo Bills
The Steelers and Bills are really more of a 1A/1B than 1 and 2 ranking for me. You aren’t going to go wrong with either one. Buffalo was again one of the most dominant defenses in 2019, posting a second consecutive top-seven fantasy campaign. The scariest thing about this unit? They may have gotten better in 2020. Their “weak points” (as if you can call anything about this defense weak) in 2019 were found when teams ran the ball. They ranked (only) 10th in rushing yards allowed and were middle of the pack in yards per attempt. With the additions of Quinton Jefferson and Mario Addison to the defensive line, these “problems” should be nonexistent in 2020. The only reason I would pick them below Pittsburgh is due to strength of schedule as Buffalo has to go through the gauntlet that is the NFC West.
3. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts may not draw a lot of headlines going into the season, but their defense should not be taken lightly. They finished no worse than seventh during the 2019 campaign in rushing yards allowed, rushing touchdowns allowed, and interceptions. Their real issues came with their defensive line not being able to put pressure on passers as they ranked just 15th in sacks and 23rd in QB pressures. This should be better in 2020 after the acquisition of former 49ers DT, Deforest Buckner. The offense of Indianapolis may help the Colts’ defense fantasy totals as well. They should be very run heavy with a backfield featuring Marlon Mack and Jonathan Taylor, which will lead to many low scoring, low yardage affairs.
4. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers defense was led by DeForest Buckner last season, who as stated, now plays for Indianapolis. This will definitely be a blow to San Francisco’s pass rush that ranked fifth in sacks during 2019. However, the rest of the core remains with stars like Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Richard Sherman. Kwon Alexander and Dee Ford also are back to full health this season which should provide more help to an already elite front seven. The only knock on this team is schedule strength as six of their games are against NFC West division rivals as well as games against Buffalo, Green Bay, New England, and New Orleans.