Fantasy Football 2014 Defense/Special Teams Rankings: Week 1
Richard Sherman
To the victors go the spoils, which is one reason why Seattle checks in at No. 1 in Athlon Sports' Fantasy Football Defense/Special Teams Rankings? Yes, the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks get a pretty tough opponent in Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense, but Pete Carroll's defense was top dog in the NFL last season, dominated Denver's record-breaking offense in the Super Bowl, and just seems to play at a different level when it's at home in front of the "12th Man."
Each week during the NFL season, we will rank enough players at each position to appease everyone from those in 8-team leagues to 16-team leagues, those that can start two QBs, two TEs, three RBs and four WRs. We cut out the rest, because if you're looking at who the 50th-best running back or the 17th-best kicker is for that week, you need more help than any Web site can give you.
Positional Rankings: QB I RB I WR I TE I DST I K
2014 NFL Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings — Defense/Special Teams
Rank | Player | Opp | Comments |
1 | Seattle Seahawks | vs. GB (Thurs.) | Hawks always tough at home. |
2 | Carolina Panthers | at TB | Bucs' O-line shaky during preseason. |
3 | Cincinnati Bengals | at BAL | Bengals happy to get Geno Atkins back. |
4 | New England Patriots | at MIA | Pats' D adds Revis + healthy Mayo, Wilfork. |
5 | Kansas City Chiefs | vs. TEN | Pass rush should be effective once again. |
6 | New York Jets | vs. OAK | Get first look/crack at rookie QB Carr. |
7 | St. Louis Rams | vs. MIN | Rams' front 7 vs. Peterson will be fun. |
8 | Chicago Bears | vs. BUF | Bears overhauled D-line w/ Allen, Houston. |
9 | Arizona Cardinals | vs. SD (Mon.) | Cardinals' D has holes, but not in secondary. |
10 | Denver Broncos | vs. IND | Ware, Talib, Ward ready to make an impact. |
11 | San Francisco 49ers | at DAL | 49ers' D not at full strength to start. |
12 | Detroit Lions | vs. NYG (Mon.) | Eli threw 27 INTs last season. |
13 | Philadelphia Eagles | vs. JAC | Opportunistic D last season. |
14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | vs. CAR | Smith ready to unveil Bucs' Tampa 2. |
15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | vs. CLE | Youth movement ready to pay off? |
16 | Houston Texans | vs. WAS | Watt and Clowney ready to wreak havoc? |
Rankings are based upon Athlon Sports' standard scoring system:
DEFENSIVE SCORING
0 points allowed = 12 points
1-6 points allowed = 10 points
7-13 points allowed = 8 pts
14-20 points allowed = 6 points
21-27 points allowed = 2 pts
28+ points allowed = 0 points
Safeties = 2 points
Fumbles recovered = 2 points
Interceptions = 2 points
Sacks = 1 point
Defensive/Special Teams TDs = 6 points
