Let’s revisit the color-coding system before we start:
Red – For a second-tier D/ST, this is
generally a bad option to start that week (high-powered offense,
low-turnover offense or both). For elite D/STs, expect them to
struggle to create sacks/turnovers.
Yellow – For a second-tier D/ST, this
is a questionable start at best. For the elite D/STs, expect average
production.
White – This one can go either way, but
I favor the D/ST over the matchup. For the elite D/STs, expect
above-average production.
Green – For non-elite D/STs, the stage
is set for a productive day. For the elite D/ST, this matchup
is about as good as it gets.
“SD” refers to schedule difficulty. In short, here
is how I scored each matchup:
Green - 1 point White - 0.5 Yellow – minus-0.5 Red – minus-1
As you can tell, the defenses were not ranked based entirely
on schedule difficulty. It was a strong consideration, however.
Defense/Special
Teams
Rk
Team
SD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
1
Jaguars
8.5
2
Rams
5.75
3
Eagles
5.25
4
Vikings
5.25
5
Chargers
5.75
6
Texans
5.0
7
Ravens
4.75
8
Broncos
4.75
9
Patriots
4.75
10
Steelers
4.25
11
Saints
3.5
12
Titans
4.5
13
Bears
2.75
14
Bengals
4.5
15
Falcons
3.25
16
Giants
2.5
Some potentially good "fits" among the top 12 D/STs that
stand out to me. (Due to the likelihood owners will not pursue two
top-five D/STs (for example, the Jaguars and Rams match up well,
but most owners don't like carrying two D/STs much less draft them
in the mid-to-late rounds), I did not pair them up below.
Each of the teams below provide at least three matches to the
main team's yellow- and red-colored bye weeks:
Doug Orth has written for FF
Today since 2006 and been featured in USA Today’s Fantasy
Football Preview magazine since 2010. He hosted USA Today’s
hour-long, pre-kickoff fantasy football internet chat every Sunday
in 2012-13 and appears as a guest analyst on a number of national
sports radio shows, including Sirius XM’s “Fantasy Drive”.
Doug is also a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.
