Tiered Fantasy Rankings D/ST: Draft Kit
August 2, 2011 by luckylester · 1 Comment
With camps started and most additions and subtractions already done, it was time to get my first set of rankings out there. I already have my QB Tiers – RB Tiers – WR Tiers and TE Tiers, so without anymore delay, here are my Defensive tiers.
If you don’t know about tiered rankings, read this, it might help – “How To Use Tiered Rankings” – I’ll do my best to get my complete All Position Tiered Rankings done here in the next week or so. Until then, enjoy, and feel free to write in with any questions. Any mail to papaweimer50@hotmail.com gets forwarded to the site, so shoot us some disagreements if you please!
Defense/Special Teams
DST Tier I
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
|---|
| Green Bay Packers |
| New York Jets |
Tier II
| Philadelphia Eagles |
|---|
| Baltimore Ravens |
| Chicago Bears |
Tier III
| Dallas Cowboys |
|---|
| Atlanta Falcons |
| New England Pats |
Tier IV
| Detroit Lions |
|---|
| New Orleans Saints |
| New York Giants |
| Kansas City Chiefs |
| Minnesota Vikings |
| San Francisco 49ers |
| Tennessee Titans |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Tier V
| Seattle Seahawks |
|---|
| St. Louis Rams |
| Carolina Panthers |
| Denver Broncos |
| Oakland Raiders |
| Houston Texans |
They haven’t made unbelievable moves this off-season, but it’s tough to bet against the Steelers, Packers, and Jets. They just have that dominant defensive game plan, they play at a speed that only the Ravens match, and they are still young enough to be dominant.
The Ravens, Bears, and Eagles were all considered for that top tier spot – but despite the additions Philly made in their secondary and pass rush (Nnamdi and Jason Babin) I’m just not sure they’ll be good enough up front at stopping the run to be a top tier defense. The Ravens are getting older and still need pass rush help and the Bears are solid, but one wonders if they’re tough enough up the middle on the defensive line. All three are great defenses, no doubt, but that’s why they weren’t in the top tier.
The Patriots did a great job in the off-season, adding one of the best 4-3 DTs in the game (Albert Haynesworth). They also are interested in Tommie Harris, and like always, I’m sure they’ll get him to play to his potential. They are a very young defense in the secondary, and a year of growth will certainly do them well.
Dallas will almost surely be solid this year. They get a very good defensive coordinator and talent has never been a problem for them. Expect big things from Rob Ryan in Big D.
The Lions jump out at me as a winner in the draft, and their youth will be improved this year. I don’t know how teams will deal with their stud defensive tackles.
The Saints and Giants are always solid, especially up front. Their pressure on opposing offenses really creates problems, and then turnovers. Defenses are tough to predict on a year to year basis, don’t spend too much on them unless your league has special rules awarding points for yardage against and higher scoring bonuses.
