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Chandler Jones

Franchised pass rusher led one of fantasy's best defenses

The Arizona Cardinals have applied the franchise tag to Chandler Jones, an easy decision after his 11 sacks helped pace the NFL's top pass rush last season (he was actually 2nd on the team to Markus Golden, who had 12.5). Arizona's 48 sacks led the league; no way was Jones going to get away after the team used a second-round pick to pry him from New England.

That pass rush helped Arizona finish with the league's 3rd-ranked fantasy defense, in a scoring system giving 1 point for sacks, 2 for turnovers and 6 for touchdowns. It's the fifth year in a row the Cardinals have finished among the top-10 fantasy defenses, something no other team can say.

Jones wasn't a part of those previous four, of course, but he's key to the team returning to those heights in 2017. Whether under the tag or a long-term deal, he'll be back.

Fantasy defense performance rankings from 2012-2016 are shown below, with their average ranking over those five seasons shown in the final column. Only Denver (finishing in the top 12 in all five years) is comparable in terms of consistency.

FANTASY DEFENSE RANKINGS, 2012-2016
D/ST20122013201420152016Avg
Arizona968135
Denver31211357
Carolina20512279
New England2115141810
Minnesota1219147211
Seattle6218131711
Los Angeles103592911
Philadelphia301515812
Kansas City321254113
Buffalo2173231313
NY Giants111818111014
Green Bay14194171614
Houston6322122115
Cincinnati6426152615
Pittsburgh2726761416
Tampa Bay22142316516
Washington12132981916
Chicago1822302116
Baltimore141917241217
Indianapolis241618102118
Miami2524927919
San Francisco18810322619
San Diego4312829419
Tennessee52427242020
Cleveland161614243120
Dallas261014312421
Detroit291912212421
Atlanta222724281022
Oakland301932191523
Jacksonville282818203025
New Orleans172931222825
NY Jets183030173225

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index