Defense/Special Teams

Tier 1: Seattle

Tier 2: San Francisco, Carolina, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Denver, Arizona

Tier 3: New England, Houston, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Cleveland

Tier 4: Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Green Bay

Tier 5: New York Jets, New York Giants, Miami, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Detroit, Jacksonville

Analysis:

Seattle tops the D/ST rankings, which should surprise no one. The dropoff between Seattle and the teams in tier 2 is not significant. In terms of strategy, it really comes down to the scoring system in your league, as scoring systems for defenses tend to vary greatly among leagues. Typically you will want to select your defenses late, and as a general guideline, I would make sure that the QB, RB, WR and TE positions are taken care of prior to selecting a D (at least for the QB, RB and WR positions, you should have a solid backup in place as well before selecting a D). But, if your league places a high emphasis on D points, then this plan is subject to change.  Know your league’s scoring system well. I would select D over kickers in virtually any league. 

- Neema Hodjat is the fantasy sports expert for RealGM.  He can be reached via email at nhodjat@gmail.com and followed on twitter at @NeemaHodjat.