Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: Top 15 Defenses

When you have four usable defenses squaring off in games that easily could be rather high scoring, it certainly changes the look at the defensive rankings.  Let’s take a look at how things shake out for Week 1:

1. San Francisco 49ers - at Seattle
2. Miami Dolphins - at Buffalo
3. Arizona Cardinals - at St. Louis
4. Chicago Bears - vs. Detroit
5. Tennessee Titans - vs. Oakland
6. New York Jets - vs. Baltimore
7. Baltimore Ravens - at New York Jets
8. New York Giants - vs. Carolina
9. San Diego Chargers - at Kansas City
10. Dallas Cowboys - at Washington
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - vs. Cleveland
12. Atlanta Falcons - at Pittsburgh
13. Cleveland Browns - at Tampa Bay
14. Pittsburgh Steelers - vs. Atlanta
15. Denver Broncos - at Jacksonville
    
    
    

Thoughts

• How good will the Jets offense be this season?  Mark Sanchez certainly wasn’t impressive in the preseason, and we all know the type of defense the Ravens are known for.  It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Sanchez get off to an inauspicious start to his 2010 campaign.
• The Giants new defensive coordinator looks to generate turnover after turn over.  While there are questions surrounding their secondary, they certainly are worth the gamble against an offense who put up just 33 points this preseason (by far the fewest in the league).
• Darrelle Revis’ return certainly helps, but will the Jets defense be able to stifle the Ravens?  They certainly should be used and considered among the elite in the league, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few bumps in the road this week with Revis having not played a down this preseason.
• The 49ers allowed the fourth-fewest points in the NFL last season and are set to square off with an offense that has the potential to struggle.  With Patrick Willis, who is arguably one of, if not the best, defenders in the league, it’s hard to pick against them.
• Arizona gets a rookie tight end in his first NFL game.  There’s a lot to like in that matchup.
• There could easily be a few high-scoring affairs, like New Orleans vs. Minnesota and Philadelphia vs. Green Bay.  Those are defenses that could be usable in most weeks, but in the opening week you are likely better off finding a different option.
  
  
  

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 1 Rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Kickers

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