There's an element of luck involved with fantasy defenses, and many would prefer to wait until the later rounds to select one. But few would deny the Jaguars were a difference-maker in most scoring systems a year ago. The Jaguars and the Rams, in fact, joined a fairly select group of fantasy defenses with their performance.
Both teams ranked in the top 5 last year in both sacks and takeaways. That doesn't happen every often: only eight other teams have managed it in the last decade. In the last five years, only three: the Cardinals in 2016, and the Steelers and Kansas City in 2015.
Who's to say those two teams won't make it two in a row? The odds might be against them, but the Jaguars have lost very little from last year's defense; most notable is probably their No. 3 cornerback, Aaron Colvin. The Rams have added Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, while losing Alec Ogletree, Robert Quinn (both traded) and Trumaine Johnson.
Defense totals and ranks in sacks and takeaways last season shown below. Bold were top-5 in both, italics in one of the two categories.
SACKS AND TAKEAWAYS, 2017 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Defense | Sack | Take | SkRk | TakeRk |
Arizona | 37 | 21 | 17-19 | 16-19 |
Atlanta | 39 | 16 | 13-14 | 27-28 |
Baltimore | 41 | 34 | 11-12 | 1 |
Buffalo | 27 | 25 | 29-30 | 9-11 |
Carolina | 50 | 21 | 3 | 16-19 |
Chicago | 42 | 22 | 7-10 | 13-15 |
Cincinnati | 41 | 14 | 11-12 | 30-31 |
Cleveland | 34 | 13 | 21 | 32 |
Dallas | 38 | 21 | 15-16 | 16-19 |
Denver | 33 | 17 | 22 | 26 |
Detroit | 35 | 32 | 20 | 3 |
Green Bay | 37 | 22 | 17-19 | 13-15 |
Houston | 32 | 16 | 23 | 27-28 |
Indianapolis | 25 | 20 | 31 | 20-22 |
Jacksonville | 55 | 33 | 2 | 2 |
Kansas City | 31 | 26 | 24-25 | 7-8 |
LA Chargers | 43 | 27 | 5-6 | 6 |
LA Rams | 48 | 28 | 4 | 5 |
Miami | 30 | 15 | 26-27 | 29 |
Minnesota | 37 | 19 | 17-19 | 23-24 |
New England | 42 | 18 | 7-10 | 25 |
New Orleans | 42 | 25 | 7-10 | 9-11 |
NY Giants | 27 | 19 | 29-30 | 23-24 |
NY Jets | 28 | 20 | 28 | 20-22 |
Oakland | 31 | 14 | 24-25 | 30-31 |
Philadelphia | 38 | 31 | 15-16 | 4 |
Pittsburgh | 56 | 22 | 1 | 13-15 |
San Francisco | 30 | 20 | 26-27 | 20-22 |
Seattle | 39 | 25 | 13-14 | 9-11 |
Tampa Bay | 22 | 26 | 32 | 7-8 |
Tennessee | 43 | 21 | 5-6 | 16-19 |
Washington | 42 | 23 | 7-10 | 12 |