Drafting a fantasy defense is a tricky proposition. Coaching staffs and players come and go, and schemes change. But when it comes to pass rush, no defense has been more consistent in recent years than Denver.
Over the last five years, the Broncos have 228 sacks -- 11 more than every team but Carolina (230, helped by an outlier 60-sack season in 2013). They're one of just three teams with at least 40 sacks in all five years, and reached 50 sacks in two of those years (the other teams, Green Bay and Minnesota, didn't reach 50 in any of them and combined for just one season over 45).
Denver parted ways with Wade Phillips in the offseason, which is a concern. But note that Phillips was the defensive coordinator in just the last two seasons of Denver's run; not 2012 through 2014, when the Broncos were 5th, 9th and 13th in sacks. The common element in all five seasons wasn't Phillips but Von Miller (double-digit sacks in each of his six seasons but 2013, when he missed seven games).
The Broncos will figure prominently in our preseason defensive rankings again.
NFL SACKS, 2012-2016 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | '12 | '13 | '14 | '15 | '16 | Total |
Carolina | 39 | 60 | 40 | 44 | 47 | 230 |
Denver | 52 | 41 | 41 | 52 | 42 | 228 |
LA Rams | 52 | 53 | 40 | 41 | 31 | 217 |
Green Bay | 47 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 40 | 215 |
Minnesota | 44 | 41 | 41 | 43 | 41 | 210 |
New England | 37 | 48 | 40 | 49 | 34 | 208 |
Buffalo | 36 | 57 | 54 | 21 | 39 | 207 |
Arizona | 38 | 47 | 35 | 36 | 48 | 204 |
Seattle | 36 | 44 | 37 | 37 | 42 | 196 |
Kansas City | 27 | 47 | 46 | 47 | 28 | 195 |
Baltimore | 37 | 40 | 49 | 37 | 31 | 194 |
Tennessee | 39 | 36 | 39 | 39 | 40 | 193 |
Pittsburgh | 37 | 34 | 33 | 48 | 38 | 190 |
Houston | 44 | 32 | 38 | 45 | 31 | 190 |
Cincinnati | 51 | 43 | 20 | 42 | 33 | 189 |
Philadelphia | 30 | 37 | 49 | 37 | 34 | 187 |
Miami | 42 | 42 | 39 | 31 | 33 | 187 |
Chicago | 41 | 31 | 39 | 35 | 37 | 183 |
Indianapolis | 32 | 42 | 41 | 35 | 33 | 183 |
NY Jets | 30 | 41 | 45 | 39 | 27 | 182 |
Washington | 32 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 181 |
Detroit | 34 | 33 | 42 | 42 | 26 | 177 |
Tampa Bay | 27 | 35 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 174 |
New Orleans | 30 | 49 | 34 | 31 | 30 | 174 |
San Francisco | 38 | 38 | 36 | 28 | 33 | 173 |
NY Giants | 33 | 34 | 47 | 23 | 35 | 172 |
San Diego | 38 | 35 | 26 | 32 | 35 | 166 |
Jacksonville | 20 | 31 | 45 | 36 | 33 | 165 |
Cleveland | 38 | 40 | 31 | 29 | 26 | 164 |
Dallas | 34 | 34 | 28 | 31 | 36 | 163 |
Oakland | 25 | 38 | 22 | 38 | 25 | 148 |
Atlanta | 29 | 32 | 22 | 19 | 34 | 136 |
--Andy Richardson