As the season nears, FanHouse's fantasy football team decided to put our heads together for another set of updated positional rankings. In this installment, the bone-crunchers and hit-collectors.The only really notable change since we last ranked the defensive units is Minnesota has cracked the top three, bumping the Ravens to the fourth spot. The Patriots have also entered the Top 10 after previously sitting just outside it. Rex Ryan's Jets continue to get (too much?) love, but I think they're a safer bet if you can wait on them. And if you're like me and wait until the top defenses are already off the board, there are some fine sleepers in the 11-16 range, including the Dolphins, Seahawks and Redskins. If you combo two of the sleeper units and rotate them correctly, you should be in good shape.
| Player |
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| 1. Pittsburgh Steelers |
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| Downright scary. LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons should only get better this year in IDP leagues. |
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| 2. New York Giants |
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| Two Fantasy FanHouse writers ranked the Giants at No. 1. Despite a fearsome defensive line and solid linebacking core, I just don't see it. |
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| 3. Minnesota Vikings |
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| Bolstered by The Williams Wall (Kevin and Pat) and Jared Allen's sack-happy ways, the Vikings leapfrog into the third spot. | |
| 4. Baltimore Ravens | |
| Rex Ryan and Bart Scott aren't around, but the personnel is still mighty tough. Look for Ed Reed and the gang to continue to rack up takeaways. |
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| 5. San Diego Chargers |
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| The pieces may change. The game remains the same. Shawne Merriman returns with a chip on his shoulder (and a better mohawk), while Kevin Burnett will be a sleeper at weak-side linebacker. |
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| 6. Tennessee Titans |
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| This unit will be hard-pressed to fill the void left by behemoth Albert Haynesworth. But the Titans' D-line knows how to bring the heat without him. |
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| 7. Chicago Bears |
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| The Bears received three No. 6 rankings from our staff. I think that's the right spot for them, especially when you consider Rod Marinelli's tutelage will help their already-dominant defensive line. |
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| 8. New York Jets |
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| The Jets are showing more aggression in training camp than they did all last season. The secondary has improved, but the linebacking core will be a big question mark with Calvin Pace suspended. Vernon Gholston needs to step up. | |
| 9. Philadelphia Eagles | |
| This young unit hasn't changed much and should still be an every-week starter, but the loss of linebacker Stewart Bradley to a torn ACL will hurt. He had 86 solo tackles last year. | |
| 10. New England Patriots | |
| New England used three second-round picks to bolster the defense. The stout defensive line makes this unit tick, but linebacker Jerod Mayo is a stud and could be calling the plays all season long. | |
11. Dallas Cowboys
12. Miami Dolphins
13. Carolina Panthers
14. Seattle Seahawks
15. Green Bay Packers
16. Washington Redskins
17. Indianapolis Colts
18. Arizona Cardinals
19. Jacksonville Jaguars
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
21. Houston Texans
22. Buffalo Bills
23. Atlanta Falcons
24. San Francisco 49ers
25. Oakland Raiders
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Kansas City Chiefs
28. New Orleans Saints
29. Cincinnati Bengals
30. Denver Broncos
31. St. Louis Rams
32. Detroit Lions
