Top 20 Fantasy Defenses (2025 Draft)

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The last of the official rankings before the season starts.  We take a look at the Defenses to target in your draft.  Don't count these guys out, every point makes a difference.  Remember I don't rank kickers...why would I?  

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Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Welcome back everyone. Tonightis going to be the last of our
rankings for the pre season. Iknow you're as excited as I am.
We're going to talk about thetop 20 defenses you should be
targeting. Now that doesn't meanthat they're necessarily going
to be the best every week. Ifyou listen to the show week to
week, then you'll find out who Ithink the best targets are going
to be. If you've got a couple ofdefenses you're playing best

(00:36):
ball or something, try to pairup a couple of defenses that
have different by weeks,different schedules. Teams that
target weak teams like NewOrleans, Carolina, or teams that
give up a lot of points, likeCincinnati, those kinds of
things. If you're playing bestball, you've got two defenses in
your league, or you're justlooking for a bye week
replacement, target those guys.
All right, before we jump in,remember when we're talking

(00:57):
about defenses at best, thedifferential between one, two
and three is 20 points eachstep. After that, it's like a 10
point differential. There's somany defenses that are actually
tied at the same points per gamein each different step. So if
you're looking at the defensesbetween like five and 15, or
five even in 20, it's really whoyou're the most comfortable
with. I'm going to tell youright now, I'm higher on a

(01:19):
couple of defenses than a lot ofguys are out there. I'll tell
you why when we get into thebreakdown, but it'll make sense.
Hopefully defenses changedrastically from year to year,
draft, free agency, all thosekinds of things. So just because
one team did really great, yep,last year doesn't mean they're
going to be great this year. Andlast one of the big question
marks for defenses is the numberof turnovers sacks from year to

(01:39):
year are normally consistent. Soif you're drafting guys like the
Denver Broncos, who lead in thetotal number of sacks, and they
don't lose anybody, they'reprobably going to have a similar
season. But when it comes tointerceptions, fumble
recoveries, yes, personnelmatter, but sometimes those
bounces just go one way oranother. Like last year, Green
Bay was number four overall.

(02:01):
When it came to turnovers. Theywere huge, with 31 total
turnovers. That didn't lead theNFL, but it was like top five.
The big picture there is therest of their defense is
terrible, and we'll talk aboutthem all right, we'll make it
quick tonight. Let's jump rightin. The first team overall I
have is Denver. Now that meansthey would be repeating from
last year. I'm not necessarilysure that they're going to

(02:21):
repeat from last year, but thisis the number one defense that I
want. They have a greatschedule. They've got a good
returning unit. Mims is injured.
That's an issue, because helikes to do punt returns and
kick returns, and that could bean issue, an extra touchdown
here or there. Maybe the chancesof them going back to back is
the number one defense arepretty small, and they're not
necessarily worth the ADP thatare the number one defense
coming off the board. But if Ihave Denver, I'm feeling pretty

(02:43):
comfortable. Number two, I havebuffalo. They were number three
last year. They drafted alldefense this year, crazy. So
they obviously know where theyneeded to go, paying that kind
of attention to it, that's goingto make them a top five defense
this year. And I haven't metnumber two, they have a top five
strength to schedule, andthey're good at getting
turnovers. And number three, Ihave Pittsburgh. I mean, when

(03:04):
you've got watt on one side,he's forcing turnovers all over
the ball. It's tough to play inPittsburgh. They have a decent
schedule. They upgraded theirsecondary. This is a no brainer
for number three and numberfour, I have Baltimore. They had
a rough year last year. It's atough place to play. They have a
decent schedule. Teams play frombehind against Baltimore, and
that means they're going to turnover the ball more trying to

(03:25):
score. They got one of the topsafeties in the draft. I think
things are going to be areversal from last year and
number five, I have the HoustonTexans. Not really surprised.
They did really well last year.
They were a top six defense. Nowthey added CJ Gardner Johnson.
Their schedule looks prettydecent. They play Carolina.
That's a big deal. Obviously,they're going to be able to stop

(03:47):
them and get some turnovers. SoI like Houston at five and
number six. I have the MinnesotaVikings. Now, on paper, they
don't look that awesome, but forsome odd reason, they force
pressure, they force turnovers,and it's tough to play in
Minnesota. They were number twolast year. I don't think they
can repeat that. I think a lotof turnovers went their way. But
if they continue to get pressureon the quarterback, they'll

(04:07):
continue to get turnovers, andthat's why I like them at six
and number seven, I have an upand comer, Seattle. Now last
year they were eight, so not abig move for them, but they have
a good schedule, had a decentdraft, and I can see them moving
up. You know, they get a betterquarterback, or at least not
necessarily a betterquarterback, but probably an
offense that's going to score alittle bit more and put the
defense on the other team ontheir heels, and make the other

(04:29):
team push the ball, which equalsturnovers. And number eight, I
have the Jets now. This is abig, big move. Last year, the
Jets were terrible. What do theyget? In my opinion, the best
defensive coordinator now thehead coach in the NFL, and that
means their defense is going tobe ultimately better. They have
arguably the top corner he'sgoing to get a couple of picks
this year. I think they're goingto get pressure. They're going

(04:51):
to run some schemes that peoplehaven't seen before. They're
probably going to run the ballmore. They're going to have a
little bit more ball control,and that means less scoring for
the other team. They're.
And more turnovers for them. Andoh, by the way, they have a top
five schedule. And number nine,I have the Chargers. Last year
they were number nine, so not ashocker here. They have a top
five schedule, tough start,though, obviously going to

(05:12):
Brazil, but I think they'regoing to create more turnovers
this year. They're going to beable to score more points, and
that equals probably moreturnovers on the other team
trying to catch them. And number10, I have San Francisco. This
is not going to be a topic by alot of people. I know this is
going to surprise. They werelike a bottom third defense last
year, but they had an amazingdraft, in my opinion, number one

(05:33):
schedule out there, the numberone schedule, strength of
schedule. I think that helpsthem. And they're going to have
a ball control offense rightnow. They don't have a whole lot
of wide receivers to throw to,so I think it's going to be
short passes. CMC, if he'shealthy, they run the ball more.
And then, of course, it's toughto win in San Francisco. Then
number 11, I had thePhiladelphia Eagles Super Bowl

(05:54):
champs. They were top fivedefense or top six defense last
year. However, there's going tobe some regression, as there
always is with Super Bowlchamps. People leave, they go
get more money. Coaches change.
There's some differences. Theirschedule is terrible this year.
That all equals a job. Butthere's still a strong unit at
number 11 and number 12. I hadthe Detroit Lions. Yes, the loss

(06:14):
of their defensive coordinatoris huge, but they have the
personnel to finish here at 12.
They have a really toughschedule. They're going to
create a lot of pressure. I hopeif they can stay healthy, but
that's really the big questionmark for Detroit, isn't it? If
they can stay healthy, theyfinish in the top 10. Number 13,

(06:34):
I have Kansas City. Man, I can'ttell you. I can't even think of
a worse place to try to go intoand win, especially in the
winter. They're alwayscompetitive. That's why I have
them here. Their schedule isn'tthe greatest, but Casey always
seems to win tough games,especially at home. And number
14, I have Atlanta. This iscrazy, right? But they had an
outstanding draft. They wentthree defensive players in the

(06:57):
first three rounds. They havethey're going to have more
success on the offense that'sgoing to drive their opponents
to try to push the ball more Ithink it creates more turnovers.
They have a really goodschedule. All the pieces are in
place for them to just rock itthis year. And number 15, I have
Arizona. They had anotheramazing draft. They're starting
hot up against New Orleans.
That's a great you know, weekone target. They have an
excellent schedule. I thinkArizona turns it around this

(07:20):
year at number 16. I have thePats. New England's always
tough. I don't know why theiroffense is going to be just
amazingly better this year. Ithink they're going to be a top
15 offense that translates intomore points. That means their
opponents have to push the ballmore. Again, you've heard me say
it more turnovers. This is goingto be a huge move for them. Last
year, they were number 31 I knowa lot of people aren't gonna

(07:41):
agree with this, but I like it,and they have a really good
schedule too. And number 17, Ihave Chicago. Chicago's always
tough at home. They have theweather. Their schedule is just
not that great. They have toplay Detroit, they have to play
Green Bay, to play Minnesota,but Chicago, for some reason,
always plays tough. Don't countthem out. Number 18, I have
Green Bay, and this is the teamthat finished four overall last

(08:04):
year. This is a big deal.
Turnovers can be fluky. I thinkin this year they're going to
have a rough one. Now there'stalk that they might get Michael
Parsons, if that happens, pushthem up another six spots to
probably 12, maybe even 11. Atnumber 19, I have the Cincinnati
Bengals. This isn't that big ofa surprise. Actually. They

(08:27):
finished number 12 last year,and they added a pass rusher in
Stewart. He even likes to hitburrow at practice. Probably not
the best thing, if I were youbuddy. Unfortunately, I think
they pull back a little bit thisyear. I think their defense is
going to be worse. They're goingto be worse. They're going to
score a lot of points. I think alot of people are going to push
the ball against them, but theydon't really have the ability to
create turnovers. Yes, they gotHendrickson, so Stuart

(08:49):
Hendrickson could create somehavoc in the pocket, but right
now, I'm just not seeing a lotof positive things out of
Cincinnati defensively. Andthen, last but not least, the
bucks. They're going to face NewOrleans and Carolina twice on
their schedule. I mean, how canyou argue with that? They're
great at home, and they're goingto push for the playoffs. I'm
trying not to make it toocomplicated here. Okay, and that

(09:11):
rounds out the top 20 defenses,and that's our last of the
rankings preseason. Now listenup before the actual week one
starts, I might have an updateon some of the numbers out
there. I'll even give you anupdate right now. Kate otton's
hurt. He's probably not gonnaplay in week one, which means
he's gonna drop a couple ofspots, probably about 13 or 14,
and that'll move Henry up tonumber 10. All right, as always,

(09:32):
before we end the show, I'mgonna give a shout out to the
men and women in uniform whoprotect the freedoms that we
hold dear. Thank you for yourservice and sacrifice, and
thanks for listening. If youenjoyed this episode, feel free
to subscribe on X YouTube,Spotify, or wherever you get
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content. And until then,remember, established dominance

(09:52):
isn't just a catchphrase, it's acommitment. Are you ready? You.
You.