Fantasy football: Brady gone but Patriots have best defense

Despite the departure of quarterback Tom Brady, New England remains the No. 1 team in defense and special teams for the 2020 fantasy football season.

No trade or free agent move has dethroned the Patriots as the defensive andspecial teams champs in the NFL. Take a look at the numbers and you’ll see why the New England defense is No. 1.

• Led the NFL  in 2019 with  225.0 fantasy football points (14.1 points per game) according to ESPN’s standard scoring system
• Led the league with 7 touchdowns scored by the New England defense/special teams
• Led the league in interceptions with 25
• Led the league with 4 blocked kicks
• Gave up the fewest number of points  scored by opponents  – 195
• Allowed the fewest number of offensive yards – 4414

Since many fantasy football leagues are set up like NFL divisions as  4, 8 or 12-team formats, this article focuses on the top 12 defenses in fantasy football.   The 2019 ranking of defenses and special teams is based on the metrics provided by the ESPN standard scoring system.

The assessments of where each team’s defense/special teams rank entering the 2020 season is based on the recent free agent activity and off-season moves by teams and players.

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Here are the rankings for the top 12 (tier 1) defenses and special teams for the 2020 fantasy football season.

 1. New England Patriots

• 2019 rank – No. 1
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 225.0 points, 14.1 points per game

Comments – See comments above and consider that there was no significant loss of personnel during the off-season. The Patriots defense may spend more time on the field in 2020 if Tom Brady’s replacement at quarterback has issues managing the New England offense.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

• 2019 rank – No. 2
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 181.0 points, 11.3 points per game

Comments – Pittsburgh followed its usual trend of not having any major signings. They may feel the loss of nose tackle Jason Hargrave to the Eagles.. Hargraves’ replacement is not readily apparent, though the Steelers added defensive lineman Chris Wormley to the roster in a trade with Baltimore.

3. San Francisco 49ers

• 2019 rank – No. 3
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 168 points, 10.3 points per game

Comments – The 49ers maintain a strong defense with the re-signing of defensive lineman Arik Armstead and safety Jimmie Ward to multi-year contracts.  San Francisco’s young defense will only get better, which is bad news for their NFC opponents.

4. Buffalo Bills

• 2019 rank – No. 6
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 131.0 points, 8.2 points per game

Comments – The Bills will jump up two spots from last year because for every free agent defensive player they lost, they signed a replacement of equal or greater worth. Plus the addition of wide receiver Stefon Diggs should reduce the number of “3 and out” situations for the Bills’ offense.

5. Baltimore Ravens

• 2019 rank – No. 4
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 152.0 points, 9.5 points per game

Comments – The Ravens lost seven players during the off-season, but managed to sign former Jaguar defensive end Calais Campbell to a two-year.  The addition of Campbell and the retention of edge rusher Matt Judon using the franchise tag will keep the Ravens’ defensive line as strong as ever.

6. Minnesota Vikings

• 2019 rank – No. 5
• 2019 fantasy statistics  -132.0 points, 8.3 points per game

Comments – The Vikings took a big hit in the secondary, losing three cornerbacks and two safeties to free agency.  They put the franchise tag on safety Anthony Harris to keep him on the team. Minnesota fell in the defensive rankings because the player departures will impact the personnel playing defense for the VIkes in 2020.

7. New York Jets

• 2019 rank- No. 7
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 129.0 points, 8.1 points per game

Comments – The Jets signed edge rusher Jordan Jenkins,to a one-year deal.  The secondary will look different because they signed two cornerbacks, but lost three cornerbacks due to free agency,

8. New Orleans Saints

• 2019 rank- No. 8
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 128.0 points, 8.0 points per game

Comments – Signing safeties Malcolm Jenkins and D.J. Swearinger plus re-signing cornerback P..J. Williams will solidly the secondary,

9. Indianapolis Colts

• 2019 rank – No. 13
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 114.0 points, 7.1 points per game

Comments – The Colts made two of the biggest free agent deals by signing defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (formerly of the 49ers) and ex-Viking cornerstone Xavier Rhodes.

10. Chicago Bears

• 2019 rank – No. 16
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 95.0 points, 5.9 points per game

Comments – Chicago signed edge rusher Robert Quinn to a multi-year deal and re-signed linebacker Danny Trevathan to strengthen their defense.

11. Kansas City Chiefs

• 2019 rank – 7
• 2019 fantasy statistics – 122.0 points,  7.6 points per game

Comments – The NFL champion Chiefs lost some personnel due to freer agency, including DE Emmanuel Ogbah to the Dolphins, LB Reggie Ragland  to the Liions and cornerback
CB Kendall Fuller to the Redskins.

12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• 2019 rank – No. 10
• 2019 fantasy statistics –  126.0 points,  7.9 points per game

Comments – Tampa Bay kept its defensive line intact by placing the franchise tag on edge rusher Shaquil Barrett and defensive linemen Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh.