In fantasy football it is no secret that your defense won’t win you a league. They simply won’t give you the point production that a mid-round receiver or running back will give your team, making them easy to wait on. Simply, DO NOT WASTE AN EARLY TO MID-ROUND PICK ON A DEFENSE. A defense, along with a kicker, should be your last two picks of the draft. With that, a solid defense is still a great grab in the late rounds. A defense that provides consistency is one less roster spot that all the great fantasy GM warriors must stress about.
Here are our top three defenses for the 2022 fantasy football season.
The Buffalo Bills got a new defensive line, and it is scary. The Bills were able to part with players such as Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, and Harrison Phillips to gain future Hall of Famer Von Miller, long time Denver Broncos star and recent Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl LVI Champ. They also brought back Shaq Lawson who was drafted by Buffalo originally, as well as former Bill Jordan Phillips. The biggest factor for Buffalo being #1 is the comfort that the defense will have with each other. Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier is back at the helm and Buffalo returns nine of their eleven starters. If you are an athlete, you understand the importance of chemistry and knowing the players next to you. Let’s not forget that the last time this defense was on the field was the infamous Kansas City Chiefs matchup with the Buffalo defense crumbling like a good bleu cheese late in the game. The Bills defense will be hungry to prove themselves, they will be hungry to show they are the best side of the ball on that team, and they will be a force to reckon with throughout the season.
The top defense of the 2021 season was the Dallas Cowboys. Much like the continuity Buffalo’s defense will have, Dallas is returning 81% of their defenders that played over 300 snaps for them last year. The biggest factor in Dallas dropping to #2 this year is the QB carousel they will face over the season. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow and Kirk Cousins are all quarterbacks that have been lighting up the boards and have a great offense behind them. I do not expect the Dallas defense to rack up as many takeaways as last year, especially cornerback Trevon Diggs, but with the pass rush of Micah Parsons, Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory, Dallas is still a top five fantasy defense.
We have discussed two teams with prolific get after the QB ability, but what team has potentially one of the best defensive back groups in the NFL? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers corner duo of Sean Murphy-Bunting to Carlton Davis III is one of the best double-threats the NFL has to offer. Murphy-Bunting is coming off of an injury to start the season, but look for blitz-happy Todd Bowles to incorporate Murphy-Bunting in immediately. Davis III is coming off of an extension in the offseason which means that confidence has never been higher. Look for him to continue locking down big-name receivers this fall. Antoine Winfield Jr. has become a well-known name in the Tampa Bay area as he continues to make big plays in big situations- taunting rival wide outs as he plays. The biggest factor for having Tampa Bay at #3 is an odd one – Rookie Zyon McCollum. The 6’2″ corner out of Sam Houston State can fly all over the field and has been generating a lot of buzz in the Buccaneers training camp. We also can’t forget linebacker Shaqil Barrett, voted by fellow players into this year’s Top 100 Players of 2022, averaging 12.5 sacks per season since he joined the Bucs in 2019.
There are countless defenses in the NFL that are going to provide solid points week in and week out this season. Drafting a defense should never be the cause of your draft night anxiety and should never be held at too high of a standard. Don’t overthink. Take a defense with solid players that have the potential to cause turnovers or have an easier strength schedule this year. You got this.
We’ll be wrapping up our 2022-2023 NFL Fantasy Football Pre-Draft Tips later this week with star-studded quarterbacks, so be sure to follow us to have all of the info to take you far this season.
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Today’s Fantasy Football Defense Advice Post was brought to you by Sports Collectibles Blog Dog, LineBARKER Spike!
-Raised a Cleveland Browns fan, Spike decided to forgo a pro career to defend his mama and any cat who tried to come near the house! A hefty little guy, Spike loves walks, CHEESE, snuggly blankets and sitting with all of the humans at the dog park – watching the other dogs like he is reading the opposing team’s offense.
