DEF Rankings

The Jets are coming off back-to-back seasons finishing 13th or better in points allowed, yards allowed and D/ST fantasy scoring, despite having a terrible offense that often gave opponents short fields. HC Robert Saleh and DC Jeff Ulbrich have done nice work with the defense, though that's not necessarily a tall task when you have a trio of excellent cornerbacks (Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, Michael Carter), a pair of top-notch, three-down linebackers (C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams) and a dominant interior lineman like Quinnen Williams. The Jets lost pass rusher Bryce Huff this offseason but then traded for Haason Reddick, seemingly landing an upgrade to pair with recent first-round picks Jermaine Johnson (2022) and Will McDonald (2023) off the edge. The safeties look like the only weak point of this defense following Jordan Whitehead's departure in free agency, leaving Tony Adams and Chuck Clark as the likely starting duo. Even with that soft spot, there's potential for a huge D/ST fantasy season if QB Aaron Rodgers returns from his Achilles injury and uplifts the offense to a level that allows the Jets to avoid turnovers and play with leads more often.

The Cowboys were either first or second in D/ST scoring the past three seasons, achieving a level of repeated excellence rarely seen at the position in fantasy. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn moved on to Washington this offseason for his second shot as a head coach, opening the door for 67-year-old Mike Zimmer to take his fourth DC job in the NFL (second time with Dallas) after an eight-year stint as the Vikings' head coach (2014-21) and two years working in college as an analyst/consultant for Deion Sanders. Zimmer's defenses have generally performed quite well, and 32-year-old LB Eric Kendricks will give him a familiar face from Minnesota to wear the green dot. The Cowboys' superb edge defenders should make up for a lack of top talent at linebacker, with superhuman Micah Parsons joined by run-stuffer Demarcus Lawrence (115 tackles the past two seasons) and 2022 second-round pick Sam Williams (8.5 sacks on 576 career snaps). They'll get along fine without DE Dorance Armstrong (who followed Quinn to Washington) and should also have enough to talent to survive the loss of Stephon Gilmore, especially if CB Trevon Diggs bounces back from an ACL tear to form a fearsome playmaking duo alongside CB DaRon Bland (nine INTs, five TDs). Some decline is certainly possible, and last year's Bland-led total of seven D/ST touchdowns is nearly impossible to repeat, but the Cowboys still have Parsons and still figure to collect plenty of sacks and takeaways.

Baltimore led the NFL in points allowed, sacks, takeaways and D/ST scoring in 2023, after finishing top 10 in all those same categories the year before. Mike McDonald thus lasted just two seasons as defensive coordinator, becoming Seattle's head coach this offseason and leaving internal promotion Zach Orr behind as the new DC in Baltimore. The Ravens also lost OLB Jadeveon Clowney (9.5 sacks), LB Patrick Queen (133 tackles), No. 3 safety Geno Stone (seven INTS) and CB Ronald Darby (seven starts, seven PDs), so they won't have the depth they did last offseason even though star power remains and first-round pick Nate Wiggins adds 4.28 speed to the secondary. LB Roquan Smith, S Kyle Hamilton and DT Justin Madubuike are among the league's best at their respective positions -- and joined by a number of other quality starters -- but the combination of offseason losses, a coaching change and a tough schedule (.536 opponent win percentage) suggest Baltimore's defense isn't nearly as far ahead of the pack as last year's results might seem to suggest.

The 49ers fielded a strong defense again last season, but it was perhaps disappointing relative to expectations (at least in the playoffs) and so they fired coordinator Steve Wilks after the Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. Internal promotion Nick Sorensen will call plays for the first time in his coaching career, having previously worked with defensive backs or as a defensive pass-game specialist. The Niners still have most of their key guys from last year, with exceptions being DT Arik Armstead, S Tashaun Gipson and nickelback Isaiah Oliver. Of that group, only Armstead was especially effective, and he's entering his age-30 season after missing 13 games the past two years. Javon Hargrave and offseason signing Maliek Collins should ensure the Niners still have plenty of interior pressure to help stud DE Nick Bosa, so the biggest personnel question at this point is how S Talanoa Hufanga (ACL) and LB Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) rebound from severe injuries. The secondary could be a legitimate weakness if Hufanga is absent or ineffective, but the Niners should still be pretty loaded in the front seven even if Greenlaw isn't his old self.

Kansas City's defense ended up being one of the biggest stories of the 2023 NFL season, despite finishing 13th in fantasy points after back-to-back years in the No. 8 spot. The real-life product represented Steve Spagnuolo's best work yet in five seasons as KC's defensive coordinator, finishing second in both points and yards allowed during the regular season and then giving up just 15.75 points in four playoff games. Per usual, the Chiefs defended the pass better than the run, ranking second in sacks, QB hits and pressure rate while tying for the fourth fewest passing TDs allowed (19). Only four teams had fewer takeaways, but the barrage of sacks made up for it (at least in non-fantasy terms), led by DT Chris Jones (10.5), DE George Karlaftis (10.5) and DE Charles Omenihu (7.0). The Chiefs now bring back 12 of the 15 players that played at least 400 defensive snaps last year, with the exceptions being CB L'Jarius Sneed, LB Willie Gay and S Mike Edwards. While the last two were arguably weak points of the defense anyway, there's no question Sneed will be tough to replace -- an assignment that mostly falls to third-year pro Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson, both of whom held their own in limited action the past two years. Even with Sneed gone, the Chiefs once again look strong on both sides of the ball and primed for another playoff run.