Fantasy Football: Pre-draft defense rankings
By Shaun Evans
Fantasy Football: Pre-Draft Defense Ranking
We are at the end of the pre-draft Fantasy Football rankings ladies and gentlemen! I appreciate every single one of you that have read, shared, and commented on these articles.
Don’t worry though because I will have more pre-draft articles coming shortly after this one to keep the Fantasy Football preparation going! So let’s dive in and see what defenses you should target in your NFL Drafts!
20. Atlanta Falcons
2018 Stats: 33 Passing TDs Allowed | 16 Rushing TDs Allowed | 26.4 PPG
The Atlanta Falcons had a rough 2018 season when it came to defense but chose to rebuild through their draft in the mid-rounds. Last season they ranked 28th in passing yards allowed and 25th in rushing yards allowed.
With the rookie additions of defensive backs Kendall Sheffield and Jordan Miller, the Falcons are looking to bring the passing touchdowns allowed down. They also added defensive end John Cominsky to try and get to the passer or rusher quicker.
19. Carolina Panthers
2018 Stats: 32 Passing TDs Allowed | 13 Rushing TDs Allowed | 23.9 PPG
Another team that had a rough 2018 season on both sides of the football with injuries and lack of commitment to stop opposing teams. They sit in the same position as they were last season as they allowed 240 yards passing per game and 112 yards rushing per game.
The Panthers added two outside linebackers with Christian Miller and their first round pick with Brian Burns out of Florida State. They already have a good solid rush defense and this year they’ll have to improve on their passing defense if they hope to get back to playoff status.
18. Tennessee Titans
2018 Stats: 21 Passing TDs Allowed | 9 Rushing TDs Allowed | 18.9 PPG
The Tennessee Titans are actually a pretty solid and consistent team heading into the 2019 season as they look to improve once again. Their defense was pretty solid last season as they only allowed 116 yards rushing per game which had them ranked 18th.
They also allowed the 6th fewest passing yards with 216 yards per game. They added some young rookies through their draft with their first-round draft pick being defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. The Titans also allowed defensive back Amani Hooker and linebacker’s D’Andre Walker and David Long.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers
2018 Stats: 27 Passing TDs Allowed | 13 Rushing TDs Allowed | 22.5 PPG
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost some key offensive pieces during the offseason but went through the draft to add young pieces to both sides of the football. They allowed the 6th fewest rushing yards last season with 96 yards per game and only 231 passing yards, ranking them 10th.
The Steelers added linebacker Devin Bush from Michigan in the first round while adding Justin Layne, Sutton Smith, Isaiah Buggs, and Ulysees Gilbert III to keep their defense young and ready to go in the future.
16. Indianapolis Colts
2018 Stats: 21 Passing TDs Allowed | 12 Rushing TDs Allowed | 21.5 PPG
The Indianapolis Colts already know what they have on the offensive side of things and decided to build their defense up through the draft as they selected 7 defensive players with their first 8 picks. They had a top 10 run defense as they only allowed 101.6 rushing yards per game while ranking 16th with their pass defense that allowed 237.8 passing yards per game.