Fantasy Football Crystal Ball: Pittsburgh Steelers

Going into your fantasy football draft, you and your competition will gather all the relevant data out there to create your cheat sheets in which you’ll compile your rankings position by position.  Every person ranks players differently, basing it on last season’s numbers, potential impact, etc.  With all the information out there, it’s no surprise that debates arise when it comes to who ranks where.  However, when it comes to defenses in 2009, there will be no argument with regard to who is No. 1.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is undoubtedly the first defensive unit that should be taken in every draft across the country.  They were the best defensive team in 2008, allowing a meager 237.2 total yards per game (first overall), 80.3 rushing yards per game (second overall), 156.9 passing yards per game (first overall), and 13.9 points per game (first overall).  On top of the fantastic stats, the Steelers D allowed 10 points or less to opposing offenses in eight of the 16 games they played in the regular season, which is fantasy gold.

When you compare the Steelers defense from 2008 to 2009, you have to love what you see.  They lost just two starters from their Super Bowl winning defense, guys who played important roles, yet were not every down impact players.  The first is linebacker Larry Foote.  Foote is a good player, but he’s not outstanding.  In fact, the man who will replace him, Lawrence Timmons, an outstanding athlete, was already taking playing time from Foote a year ago.  The other loss from last season’s squad is cornerback Bryant McFadden.  McFadden is a solid cover man, but he too was losing playing time last year to William Gay.  Both Timmons and Gay will not miss a beat left by the two departed Steelers, which will continue to allow the defense to be aggressive.

Obviously, the majority of players around the NFL feel their team is the best during training camp.  That’s the beauty of the eternal optimism that is the offseason.  However, sometimes those players are right, and if that’s the case in regard to the Steelers’ defense, then opposing offenses will need to watch out.  Upon hearing from the Steelers’ players this past week, they believe the unit could be even better in 2009 than they were in 2008.  Sure, opposing offenses could master their schemes and you always have the risk of injury, but when you give Dick LeBeau a chance to open things up with explosive players who follow their assignments, there is no reason to think they couldn’t be even better this season than they were last.

The biggest question then is, when is the right time to draft the Steelers defense in your league?  In my opinion, you can take them two rounds before you’d consider another defense, which means somewhere in Rounds 8-10.  While there doesn’t seem to be much separation from other defenses like the Giants, Titans, Ravens, Eagles, etc., the separation between the Steelers and the others just mentioned is actually rather huge.  Add a softer schedule to the mix of a returning dominant force (the Steelers had the toughest schedule in the NFL in 2008), and you have the potential to grab a defense that will add a nice chunk of fantasy points per week compared to their counterparts.  And, in fantasy football, we all know every added point counts.

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