Not every league still utilizes the option to have defense on fantasy rosters. For those of you who still do I applaud you for your intelligence.
Last year one of the best fantasy defenses was the Indianapolis Colts. They finished as the 3rd best defense, scoring 146 points over the course of the year. Additionally, they scored only 2 points less than the 2nd place Steelers and 5 points less than the 1st place Rams. There weren’t many weeks that you’d be displeased with starting them. For me, the expectation for my defense every week is to get at least 7 points. The Colts only failed to do that 3 times.
Their defense failed to perform in week 1 against the Jaguars after a short offseason with little preparation. This also happened to be the Jaguars' only win of the entire season. Furthermore, the Colts' defense failed once again, this time due to the absence of Deforest Buckner and got ran over by Derrick Henry almost every play, from what is seemed, as a result.
For the third and final failure as a defensive unit, the Colts blew a major lead to the Steelers, one of the best coached teams in football. Without the Jaguars beating them by chance and some bad luck with weird circumstances, their only duds would be against 2 of the top AFC teams.
The Colts' defense is loaded with personnel. From their secondary to their linebackers to their defensive line talent is evident everywhere.
Their strong defensive line consists of the elite Deforest Buckner, the solid and underrated Grover Stewart and the young edge group filled to the brim with talent. The Colts edge group includes 22 year old Kwity Paye, 21 year old Dayo Odeynigbo, 26 year old Al-Quadin Muhammad, 26 year old Kemoko Turay and a few other young talented guys.
Kwity Paye is a freak of nature and a perfect fit for the Colts 4-3 defense. Justin Houston and Denico Autry have taught these young guys well and have now been lingering in free agency.
Their linebackers are headlined by two studs: Darius Leonard and Bobby Okereke. Losing Anthony Walker hurts, but they have 2 very strong guys at the position and have a very strong, deep secondary.
This secondary consists of a ton of solid well rounded players. The Colts managed to rejuvenate Xavier Rhodes' career so he could teach Kenny Moore and Rock Ya-Sin, who are just 25 years old each, how to ‘play ball’. Kenny Moore is an elite slot corner that cost the Colts nothing to acquire. LITERALLY NOTHING.
Moore was an UDFA who signed for cheap. This offseason, Moore got the bag he deserved. Rock Ya-Sin was an early 2nd round pick who is entering only his 3rd NFL season. Julian Blackmon was the best rookie safety last year and Khari Willis is a fantastic safety on the opposite end with only 2 years of experience.
The Colts have built their defense from the ground up. Chris Ballard is fantastic and building a roster and I haven’t even mentioned the defensive side of the ball. Their defense and team will be great for years to come.