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Cardinals, Panthers among better fantasy defenses

Wilks hire a plus for Arizona D

The Arizona Cardinals hired former Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks as their new head coach, and he's bringing Panthers linebackers coach Al Holcomb along as his defensive coordinator. Neither are big names, but they've worked together in Carolina for the last five years, and they look like a plus for Arizona's defense -- certainly its fantasy defense.

Entering 2017, only two teams had top-12 fantasy defenses five years running, using a scoring system awarding 1 point for sacks, 2 points for turnovers and 6 for touchdowns. One was Denver, and the other was Arizona. But both of those teams slipped out of the top 15 last season. Now there's only one team that's had a top-12 fantasy defense in each of the last five seasons: Carolina, where Wilks and Holcomb plied their trade.

There's a lot more to do for Wilks to be considered a successful hire for the Cardinals. They've got to find a quarterback, and get the offense on track. But it's a promising situation for the Cardinals fantasy defense to sneak back up into at least being an above-average group.

FANTASY DEFENSE RANKINGS, 2013-2017
Team'13'14'15'16'17
Arizona681318t
Atlanta27242810t24t
Baltimore19t1724t122
Buffalo73231315
Carolina512t2711
Chicago8t223021t9
Cincinnati4261526t23
Cleveland16t14t24t3131
Dallas1014t3124t17
Denver121135t18t
Detroit19t12t2124t4
Green Bay19t417t1616
Houston3221221t21
Indianapolis16t18t1021t29
Jacksonville2818t20301
Kansas City1254112
LA Chargers31282948
LA Rams35t9293
Miami24t927926
Minnesota19t14t7224t
New England115t141822
New Orleans293122287
NY Giants1818t1110t27
NY Jets303017t3230
Oakland19t32191532
Philadelphia151585
Pittsburgh26761410
San Francisco8t103226t28
Seattle218t13176
Tampa Bay1423165t14
Tennessee24t2724t2018t
Washington132981913

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index