1. Seattle Seahawks
Until someone unseats the Legion of Boom, it’s going to sit atop these lists for the foreseeable future. Seattle’s defense finished this past season first in points against, first in total defense, first in passing yards allowed and third against the run.
Flush will All-Pro performers at all levels, new defensive coordinator Kris Richard has everything he needs to continue the domination we have seen from this unit over the past three years. In reality, it should be as seamless of a transition as it was from Gus Bradley to Dan Quinn in 2013.
The one issue here is depth. If Bobby Wagner, Richard Sherman or Earl Thomas were to go down for an extensive period of time due to injury, there would be a vulnerability at that area. This is magnified at cornerback where Seattle lost Byron Maxwell to the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. While Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon have the talent, neither has shown enough to be relied on as a starter. In addition to this, the signing of Cary Williams is laughable. He’s nowhere near a starter-caliber corner.