Fantasy Football Defenses: Top Ten You Should Target In 2014

New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones (95) Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Coming in at #8 is “The Dynasty”, the New England Patriots. Over the last decade, the word “Patriots” has brought up pictures of images of Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and the rest of their offense ruining your team’s dreams. Soon enough, their ferocious defense will take the forefront.

The biggest move of the offseason for the Patriots was signing All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis to a two-year deal. Revis played the 2013 season for Tampa Bay, where Greg Schiano ran a lot of zone coverage plays.

Revis is more known as being a lockdown man-coverage player, so he didn’t make many big plays last season, but he appears to be capable of being a Top 3 cornerback in the NFL once again.

Revis will be joining safeties Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon and cornerback Kyle Arrington in New England’s secondary. Cornerback Brandon Browner will be joining the party a little late, as he will serve a four-game suspension for “violating the league’s substance abuse policy”. While former Patriot Aqib Talib left town this offseason, the addition of Revis should more than make up for it.

Teams looking to avoid throwing on Revis will have a difficult time dealing with this front seven. Defensive ends Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich combined for 19.5 sacks and three forced fumbles last season, while big defensive tackles Vince Wilfork and Chris Jones will stuff any run attempt up the middle.

And don’t forget about linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jerod Mayo into the fold, who combined for 100 tackles last season.

With the “Revis Island” returning to the AFC East, look for the Patriots’ defense to overshadow the offense for the first time in years. With below average quarterbacks such as E.J. Manuel, Matt Cassel, and Matt Schaub on the schedule in the first half of the season, this defense should rack up some interceptions and sacks early on in the year for your fantasy team.

Pro: Lockdown cornerbacks
Con: Exploitable rushing defense