2006 Fantasy Football Tiered Rankings: Defenses/Special Teams
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Depending on your league’s scoring system, defenses can be a vital part of your team’s ability to compete. But, like kickers, it’s difficult to project which unit will play well in the future. For that reason, it’s wise to let other owners grab defenses early and then finally draft one once 8-10 defenses are already off the board.
NOTE: Numbers in parentheses represent Average Draft Position (ADP) from AntSports.com for drafts conducted 7/1-7/17. Any player rankings based on AntSports.com's High Performance Scoring system.
STIFILING DEFENSES
Chicago Bears (7.11)
41 sacks, 34 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 202 points allowed, 5 TD (4 DEF, 1 ST)
Brian Urlacher and company don’t have much help on offense, so they are forced to win games defensively.
Pittsburgh Steelers (10.04)
47 sacks, 30 turnovers, 1 safeties, 1 shutout, 246 points allowed, 3 TD (1 DEF, 2 ST)
The Steelers boast a talented and well-organized defense.
Baltimore Ravens (11.06)
42 sacks, 26 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 279 points allowed, 3 TD (3 DEF, 0 ST)
Ray Lewis and Ed Reed should continue to make the Ravens D the strength of the team...rookie DT Haloti Ngata will help clog the middle.
Carolina Panthers (9.07)
45 sacks, 42 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutout, 241 points allowed, 3 TD (3 DEF, 0 ST)
Julius Peppers brings a consistent rush from the edge, throwing a monkey wrench into any offensive gameplan.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12.09)
36 sacks, 30 turnovers, 1 safety, 0 shutout, 262 points allowed, 3 TD (3 DEF, 0 ST)
The Bucs should continue to field one of the better defensive squads.
Indianapolis Colts (11.09)
46 sacks, 31 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 247 points allowed, 4 TD (4 DEF, 0 ST)
Sackmaster Dwight Freeney leads an improving Colts DT.
THE NEXT BEST
Washington Redskins (13.07)
35 sacks, 28 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutout, 279 points allowed, 4 TD (2 DEF, 2 ST)
The Redskins boast a lot of expensive personnel on D...now they just need to play together.
Buffalo Bills (13.12)
35 sacks, 28 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 279 points allowed, 2 TD (1 DEF, 1 ST)
It’s tough to score points on the Bills in Buffalo.
Atlanta Falcons (14.03)
37 sacks, 29 turnovers, 1 safeties, 0 shutouts, 329 0 points allowed, 2 TD (2 DEF, 0 ST)
The Falcons are vulnerable, but they’ve got a good front four.
Dallas Cowboys (14.04)
37 sacks, 26 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 284 points allowed, 2 TD (2 DEF, 0 ST)
Bill Parcells always seems to field a good defense.
Jacksonville Jaguars (14.12)
47 sacks, 28 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 257 points allowed, 3 TD (2 DEF, 1 ST)
The Jags D is usually underrated and this year should be no exception.
NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME
Arizona Cardinals (14.08)
37 sacks, 26 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 367 points allowed, 3 TD (3 DEF, 0 ST)
The Cardinals surprised many last season with their better-than-crappy play...Dennis Green appears to be turning things around.
Seattle Seahawks (15.02)
50 sacks, 27 turnovers, 0 safeties, 1 shutout, 271 points allowed, 3 TD (3 DEF, 0 ST)
Seattle’s offense is the team’s strength, but the improvement to the defense is the reason they made it to the Super Bowl.
New York Giants (14.11)
41sacks, 37 turnovers, 0 safeties, 1shutout, 302 points allowed, 4 TD (2 DEF, 2 ST)
The addition of Lavar Arrington should give Michael Strahan some help...they are still suspect in the secondary, however.
Miami Dolphins (15.06)
49 sacks, 27 turnovers, 3 safeties, 0 shutouts, 309 points allowed, 1 TD (1 DEF, 0 ST)
Nick Saban is slowly turning Miami around...will we see another great defense in South Florida this season?
Philadelphia Eagles (15.07)
29 sacks, 27 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 352 points allowed, 2 TD (2 DEF, 0 ST)
Not as good as in years past, but with all the blitz packages, the Eagles are still a serviceable fantasy defense.
New England Patriots (15.09)
33 sacks, 18 turnovers, 0 safeties, 1 shutouts, 324 points allowed, 2 TD (2 DEF, 0 ST)
The Pats D struggled at times last year, but expect improvement this season.
Cincinnati Bengals (15.12)
28 sacks, 44 turnovers, 0 safeties, 0 shutouts, 344 points allowed, 1 TD (1 DEF, 0 ST)
The Bengals’ D struggled with inconsistency last season.
Denver Broncos (16.02)
28 sacks, 36 turnovers, 1 safety, 0 shutouts, 252 points allowed, 3 TD (3 DEF, 0 ST)
The Broncos have a lot of team speed, but offenses were able to move the ball against them in 2005.