Daily Fantasy Football 2015: Projecting Top DraftKings Performers at D/ST

The defense/special teams slot can easily be overlooked in a DraftKings fantasy football contest. It's the position that generally carries the lowest salary, and it's a team or unit concept within a game built around individual stats.

Quite honestly, it's more exciting to focus on a quarterback or running back than it is to think about which defensive unit or return men will shine.

That said, effective DK fantasy football owners understand the importance of maximizing every position in their lineups. In DK, you get one week to put up the best lineup virtual money can buy. That includes tabbing the D/ST for the upcoming week of football.

On that note, we’ve compiled a short list of the top D/ST picks for the 2015 NFL season. Obviously, matchups can change the rankings each week, but the teams included in this slideshow should at least get a look every week.

Here’s a hint: J.J. Watt will lead his Houston Texans to one of the slots in the slideshow. Before we move on, here's a breakdown of the scoring breakdown for D/ST in DK contests, per DraftKings.com:

"

Defense/Special Teams will accumulate points as follows:

• Sack = +1PT
• Interception = +2PTs
• Fumble Recovery = +2PTs
• Kickoff Return TD = +6PTs
• Punt Return TD = +6PTs
• Interception Return TD = +6PTs
• Fumble Recovery TD = +6PTs
• Blocked Punt or FG Return TD = +6PTs
• Safety = +2PTs
• Blocked Kick = +2PTs
• 0 Points Allowed = +10PTs
• 1-6 Points Allowed = +7PTs
• 7-13 Points Allowed = +4PTs
• 14-20 Points Allowed = +1PT
• 21-27 Points Allowed = 0PTs
• 28-34 Points Allowed = -1PT
• 35+ Points Allowed = -4PTs

The following scoring plays will result in Points Allowed (PA) by your Defense/Special Teams (DST):

Rushing TDs, Passing TDs, Punt Return TDs, Kick Return TDs and Blocked Punt TDs

• 2pt conversions
• Extra-points
• Field-goals

*Note: Points Allowed (PA) only includes points surrendered while D/ST is on the field - doesn't include points given up by team's offense (i.e. points off offensive turnovers).

"

5. Miami Dolphins

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

• 2014 Stats: 39 sacks, 14 INTs, 3 TDs
• Bye Week: 5

In 2014, the Miami Dolphins defensive line was a formidable group headed by Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon. With the acquisition of Ndamukong Suh, it only makes sense to project the Dolphins defense will get even stronger—especially up front.

Michael Beller of Sports Illustrated writes:

"The Dolphins are legitimate contenders to knock the Patriots off their perch in the AFC East, and it has just as much to do with the defense as it does with Ryan Tannehill and the improving offense."

Suh is the rare defensive tackle who performs on an elite level against the run and pass. He had 8.5 sacks last season and his 13 stuffs are proof of his stoutness against the run. With Wake, Vernon, Suh and Earl Mitchell up front, the job of the linebacker corps, and the Brent Grimes-led secondary should be much easier.

Barring injuries to any of the front four, all of the Dolphins' pertinent defensive stats should improve in 2015.

4. St. Louis Rams

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

• 2014: 40 sacks, 13 INTs, 5 TDs
• Bye Week: 6

As good as the Dolphins defensive line can be this season, the St. Louis Rams front four has a chance to be even better. Even with veteran defensive end Chris Long playing only six games in 2014, the Rams tallied 40 sacks.

Long returns to the team with super pass-rusher Robert Quinn at the other end position. Quinn had 10.5 sacks in 2014. He has 40 in his last three seasons combined. Long and Quinn sandwich second-year defensive tackle Aaron Donald (nine sacks, 11 stuffs in 2014) and the space-eating Michael Brockers.

Want depth? The very talented Nick Fairley is there to spell Donald or Brockers.

The 13 picks the Rams managed in 2014 was no accident or coincidence. The team had 14 in 2013 and 17 in 2012. Taking the ball away is a staple of head coach Jeff Fisher's teams. As a matter of fact, the 13 interceptions were the lowest of any Fisher-coached team since his woeful 2005 Tennessee Titans squad had only nine.

When you consider Long is the oldest defensive lineman at 30, there's every reason to believe this solid defensive unit is still on the uptick. 

Also, don't forget the Rams still have the very explosive Tavon Austin on the team as a return man. He's had a punt return touchdown in each of his two seasons in the NFL. With a defense that figures to force a lot of punts, Austin might get an opportunity to have a spectacular return season.

3. Houston Texans

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

• 2014 stats: 37 sacks, 20 INTs, 6 TDs
• Bye Week: 9

The Houston Texans seem poised to reap the benefits from having the game's best defensive player in Watt finally team with the 2014 No. 1 overall pick, Jadeveon Clowney. While Watt was making an early case for his bust in Canton with 20.5 sacks, five fumble recoveries, an interception and a defensive touchdown, Clowney missed all but four games with a knee injury.

Watt's sack total equaled more than half the teams' tally. With Clowney on the field, there should be more balance in that department.

Per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, head coach Bill O'Brien sounds optimistic about Clowney playing Week 1:

"

Bill O'Brien on Clowney: 'The knee is feeling decent. We'll keep inching him forward to get him ready to play in the first game.'

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 26, 2015"

At less than 100 percent, Clowney was underwhelming in 2014, but no one questions the 22-year-old's talent. Presumably healthy, he should help to spark an already-nasty defense. With Watt on the field, Clowney will be under even less pressure to perform, and it'll be almost impossible to double-team him, should his play warrant that type of attention.

The Texans also managed 20 interceptions in 2014, which was tied for third in the NFL. The opportunistic squad will have even more chances to get takeaways this season with two potentially dominant pass-rushers in its front seven.

2. Buffalo Bills

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

• 2014 Stats: 54 sacks, 19 INTs, 4 TDs
• Bye Week: 8

Rex Ryan brings his defensive expertise to a team that was seemingly built for his style. With a dominant front seven that can excel in the 3-4, the Buffalo Bills have a chance to beat their 2014 sack total under Ryan. You would be hard-pressed to find a better group of pass-rushers than Marcell Dareus, Mario Williams and Kyle Williams.

The team played 4-3 in 2014 under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, but in 2013 in Mike Pettine's 3-4 scheme, the Bills had 57 sacks. Pettine was Ryan's defensive coordinator with the New York Jets from 2009-12, so many of the players will be familiar with the philosophy.

If the team stays healthy, 60 sacks is a real possibility. The Bills' defensive prowess goes beyond the front seven. Stephon Gilmore is ready to become a shutdown cornerback in the NFL. The 24-year-old has five interceptions in his first two seasons. 

In Ryan's defense, he'll get every shot to prove he's the Bills version of Darrelle Revis. The speedy Leodis McKelvin is an excellent running mate for Gilmore.

As a head coach, Ryan's defenses never topped 19 interceptions and only equaled the mark once. While the takeaways might take a dip, the sack total should more than make up for it.

1. Seattle Seahawks

Scott Eklund/Associated Press

• 2014 stats: 37 sacks, 13 INTs, 3 TDs
• Bye Week: 9

It's easy to look at the Seattle Seahawks 2014 defensive statistics and come away a little underwhelmed. Don't be fooled.

This is still the best defense in the NFL, and after experiencing heartbreak in Super Bowl 49, the Seahawks will be back with a vengeance. After a slow start to last season that saw Seattle's defense surrender an uncharacteristic 23.5 points per game in their first six contests, the Seahawks flipped the proverbial switch the rest of the way.

They still wound up allowing just 15.9 points per game to their opponents, which was the best in the NFL, after holding teams to just 11.3 in their final 10 regular-season games.

Seattle's hold on the top spot here isn't as much about gaudy individual stats. Sure, Seattle's defense has its stars in Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas III, Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett and Bobby Wagner—all are arguably the best in the league at their positions.

Beyond that, its excellence is about the way the players perform as a unit.

Quite simply, Seattle keeps opponents off the scoreboard. It also helps that it doesn't play in a division with high-powered offenses. Six games against the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Rams won't figure to be too taxing on a team's defensive statistics.

Last but not least, rookie return specialist Tyler Lockett could be a special teams demon that feeds off the Seahawks' defensive excellence. Lockett is a burner who is dynamic in open space. NFL.com's Elliot Harrison projects Lockett to be an All-Pro return man as a rookie.

He's already proven to be a weapon in the preseason with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. DK players should be giving Seattle's D/ST a look every week—except Week 9.

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