8. Los Angeles Rams
Now, things get interesting. With Wade Phillips replaced by Brandon Staley, it’s up to the first-time NFL defensive coordinator to replace a living legend, and Staley will have limited resources to work with. Yes, Aaron Donald is still the best defensive player in the game, and Jalen Ramsey can be a top-flight cornerback, but pass rush, safety depth, and the cornerback group after Ramsey are question marks at this point. The ranking here is optimistic based on the talent of the front-line stars, but any deviation in performance could lead to a sub-par finish — and it’s not obvious that the Rams have the offensive firepower to make up for that. The guy to watch here is third-round pass-rusher Terrell Lewis from Alabama. Injuries abbreviated Lewis’ impact as a college player, but he showed as much talent as anybody at his position during a relatively healthy 2019 season.
7. Chicago Bears
With a change in management from Vic Fangio to Chuck Pagano, the Bears’ defense remained consistently above-average even with a down year from Khalil Mack, and an offense led by Mitchell Trubisky that seemed destined to put that defensive in difficult situations more often than not. Then again, given the Bears’ history of quarterbacks, it’s something the franchise is used to. One thing that will help in 2020 and beyond is the fact that Chicago absolutely stole Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson with the 50th overall pick in the second round — Johnson carried first-round talent with him throughout his collegiate career. If Mack is able to once again become the dominant force he has been, there’s enough dangerous talent on this defensive roster — defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, linebacker Roquan Smith, and safety Eddie Jackson primary among them — to make this defense a top-five unit and almost make up for the quarterback shenanigans.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There’s been a lot of hype about a certain quarterback the Bucs signed in free agency this past offseason, and justifiably so. But the most important free-agent deal Tampa Bay made before the 2019 season paid off quite handsomely, as well. Hiring Todd Bowles as his defensive coordinator was one of Bruce Arians’ most astute decisions. Bowles installed a man-heavy defense, leaned on talented rookies Devin White, Sean Murphy-Bunting, and Jamel Dean, and turned Shaquil Barrett into a superstar, as Barrett led the NFL in sacks with 19.5 and blitz snaps with 174. Tampa Bay rose from 19th to third in Defensive DVOA in the second half of the season, and with the addition of second-round safety Antoine Winfield Jr., expect at least Top-10 performance again. Tom Brady could be the icing on the cake here.
5. Buffalo Bills
It’s not yet clear how high Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s ceiling is, but one thing’s for sure — under head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Buffalo’s defense has officially arrived. The alpha in this group is cornerback Tre’Davious White, who competed with New England’s Stephon Gilmore for the title of NFL’s best cornerback in 2019. Safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer fill out three-fourths of a fine secondary, 2019 first-round lineman Ed Oliver is a star on the rise, and if either veteran free agent signing Josh Norman can find the fountain of youth or young cornerback Levi Wallace can find consistency, this can be as good a defense as you’ll see in the NFL in 2020.
4. Baltimore Ravens
No team has blitzed more than the Ravens over the last two seasons, and just to make sure nobody thought Baltimore’s 39.6% blitz rate in 2018 was a fluke, defensive coordinator Don Martindale upped it to 54.9% last year. Blitzing that much only works if you have a remarkable secondary, which the Ravens perfected with the trade for cornerback Marcus Peters last October. Peters had always been an inconsistent player before, allowing as many big plays as he prevented with the Chiefs and Rams, but he got with the program in Baltimore, and everything came together. Now, with the addition of first-round pick Patrick Queen (who should quickly solve the defense’s linebacker coverage issues) and free agent defensive lineman Calais Campbell, this defense could match any in the league. And when you add that to Baltimore’s offense, and another year of development for Lamar Jackson, dare we say that a Super Bowl seems… likely?
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
How did the Steelers manage to go 8-8 with an absolutely disastrous quarterback situation? With a defense that pounced on opportunities throughout the season, and got better as things went along. No team had a better Defensive DVOA (Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted efficiency metric) than Pittsburgh from Weeks 10-17, and that had as much to do with the trade for defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick (who became one of the league’s best deep safeties in his new environs) as it did with a defense that led the NFL in sacks (54), pressures (180), and pressure percentage (30.5). If Ben Roethlisberger can make it through the 2020 season, expect the Steelers to challenge the Ravens for the top of the AFC North.
2. San Francisco 49ers
2019 was the year that Robert Saleh’s 49ers defense came together, and the result was a team that came very close to winning Super Bowl LIV. No team allowed fewer net yards per passing attempt than San Francisco’s 4.8, and their 150 allowed passing first downs tied with the Patriots for the league lead. And if you wanted to throw deep against this defense, forget it — the 49ers allowed by far the fewest air yards last season with just 1,320 — New England finished second with 1,739. There are stars all over this defense, from Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa, to cornerback Richard Sherman, who may have had his best season to date, to underrated linebacker Fred Warner, to first-round defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw, who should be able to replace the traded DeForest Buckner just fine. Questions surround the ceiling of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but there are absolutely no doubts about the greatness of this defense.
1. New England Patriots
Unless you have the right personnel for it, man coverage is very tough to play. Only the Lions had more man coverage targets than the Patriots did in 2019 — 336 to 291. The difference was, the Lions allowed 23 touchdowns and had just three interceptions in man coverage, and the Patriots allowed just 10 touchdowns and had 18 picks. And the NFL’s three best pass defenders in man coverage last season with at least 25 targets per QBR allowed, were Patriots cornerbacks — J.C. Jackson, Jason McCourty, and Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore. Add in the fact that the Patriots amassed 47 sacks and allowed a league-best seven rushing touchdowns, and you have what may be Bill Belichick’s crowning achievement as a defensive coach.
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