Defense and special teams units are often overlooked by most fantasy football managers because of the tendency to simply find a streaming option on the waiver wire with an ideal matchup against a struggling offense on a weekly basis.
Yet, an elite unit can help elevate your fantasy to a championship contender.
Here is a closer look at the defense and special teams fantasy rankings in a non-PPR format entering the 2024 NFL season.
Ranking the Top Fantasy Defenses
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | K
1) Baltimore Ravens | Baltimore Ravens
2) San Francisco 49ers | San Francisco 49ers
3) Dallas Cowboys | Dallas Cowboys
4) Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Browns
5) New York Jets | New York Jets
6) Miami Dolphins | Miami Dolphins
7) Buffalo Bills | Buffalo Bills
8) Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh Steelers
9) Kansas City Chiefs | Kansas City Chiefs
10) Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia Eagles
11) New Orleans Saints | New Orleans Saints
12) New England Patriots | New England Patriots
13) Minnesota Vikings | Minnesota Vikings
14) Houston Texans | Houston Texans
15) Chicago Bears | Chicago Bears
16) Denver Broncos | Denver Broncos
17) Indianapolis Colts | Indianapolis Colts
18) Detroit Lions | Detroit Lions
19) Cincinnati Bengals | Cincinnati Bengals
20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
21) Jacksonville Jaguars | Jacksonville Jaguars
22) Green Bay Packers | Green Bay Packers
23) Las Vegas Raiders | Las Vegas Raiders
24) Seattle Seahawks | Seattle Seahawks
25) Los Angeles Rams | Los Angeles Rams
26) Atlanta Falcons | Atlanta Falcons
27) Carolina Panthers | Carolina Panthers
28) New York Giants | New York Giants
29) Los Angeles Chargers | Los Angeles Chargers
30) Tennessee Titans | Tennessee Titans
31) Washington Commanders | Washington Commanders
32) Arizona Cardinals | Arizona Cardinals
Who Are the Best Defenses To Draft In Fantasy?
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens’ defense under Mike Macdonald flirted with having one of the best defensive campaigns in recent memory at times. They led the league in sacks (60) and takeaways (31) last year with the exotic schemes and blitz packages that absolutely terrorized opposing offenses.
Players like Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, and Patrick Queen anchored a fast and versatile defense without the presence of an elite pass rusher. Ironically enough, Justin Madubuike led the team in sacks from the defensive tackle position, while players like Jadeveon Clowney, Kyle Van Noy, and Odafeh Oweh all provided ample pressure off the edge.
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This is the part where we talk about some of the changes to the defensive side of the roster this offseason. The team lost Queen and Clowney to free agency. These losses are somewhat mitigated by the three noteworthy additions in the 2024 NFL Draft — Nate Wiggins, T.J. Tampa, and Adisa Issac.
Yet, when you combine these losses with the departure of Macdonald as defensive coordinator, there is no doubt this defense will have a different look this year.
The losses may be enough to push this unit down the fantasy board a bit, but I’m not going to jump from a defense that averaged 10.2 fantasy points per game last year.
Dallas Cowboys
The only team to score more fantasy points than Baltimore’s defense last year was the Dallas Cowboys. They scored six defensive touchdowns, one special teams touchdown, and generated a healthy 26 turnovers in 2023.
Keep in mind, they did most of this without the services of star CB Trevon Diggs, who suffered a season-ending knee injury just two games into last season.
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Once the Cowboys get Diggs back into the fold, he will join Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Daron Bland as big-time players for this defensive unit. The loss of Leighton Vander Esch is somewhat resolved with the addition of veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks.
Ultimately, this defense can do two things we love for fantasy football: Pressure the quarterback and generate turnovers.
Expect the Cowboys’ defense to be rock-solid again in 2024.