Fantasy Football: Who’s the Best D/ST
Sometimes one of the more confusing aspects of fantasy football is drafting your D/ST. By using Football Outsiders advanced statistics, offseason moves and 2014 stats, we offer you our top D/ST team for the 2015 fantasy season. Some key factors to also look at are the teams weather, whether or not the kicker will be playing in a dome half the season, or the altitude change in places such as Denver.
Whether people like it or not, the Philadelphia Eagles have the best special teams in the league bar-none. Chip Kelly has done an excellent job of getting specialized players to play certain roles. From a defensive stand-point, they have the best front seven in the league and a much improved secondary. They quietly led fantasy D/ST in scoring last season by a decent margin and made even more improvements to their special teams. The return team of Darren Sproles and Josh Huff is deadly and critical to their success, while the leg of rookie Cody Parkey was Pro Bowl caliber last year.
On the defensive side, the amount of quality linebackers they carry is outstanding. Former Rookie of the Year Kiko Alonso is paired with other young talented guys like Mychal Kendricks and third round pick Jordan Hicks. Veterans Connor Barwin and DeMeco Ryans have returned for another season, while Brandon Graham resigned with the team this offseason. Can’t beat that collection of talent on one side of the ball.
Their secondary is just a fresh of air for Eagles fans. Second round pick Eric Rowe and free agent prize Byron Maxwell will be major upgrades over Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher. Malcolm Jenkins return for his second season as their starting safety alongside the young, evolving Earl Wolff. Walter Thurmond also joins in to help the young Rowe and Wolff grow in the NFL.
Just a great D/ST only getting better.
From a fantasy draft aspect, the Eagles should be there with your last pick. People undervalue them cause they aren’t a hot name from the defensive side, yet. If you want, feel free to take a more defensive-heavy team earlier, but don’t miss out on last seasons leading D/ST scoring team.