While everyone focuses on shiny offenses that can put up a ton of points in a short period of time, it’s important to note the two teams that played in the Super Bowl this past February boasted dominant defenses.
If offenses can help teams put up more points than their opponents, defenses have the ability to change the entire landscape of a game and/or season.
Denver proved that to a T during its Super Bowl run a season ago, especially considering the Broncos’ two quarterbacks combined to throw 19 touchdowns compared to 23 interceptions on the season.
Which teams will boast the best defenses in 2016? Will the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills improve off below-average defensive performances and crack the top 10?
Has the Legion of Boom in Seattle lost some of its appeal as a top-end defense? Just because J.J. Watt might be the best football player in the NFL, does it mean that his defense is also the best in the league?
We will answer these questions and more as we rank the top-10 defenses heading into the 2016 NFL season.
1. Houston Texans
Houston finished last season third in total defense, third against the pass and in the top 10 against the run. While J.J. Watt is the obvious face of this unit, there are Pro Bowl caliber players at nearly all levels.
In addition to Watt’s 17.5 sacks, former first-round pick Whitney Mercilus added 12 sacks. That represented the most total sacks by a tandem in the entire league.
If Jadeveon Clowney can somehow build off what was a rebound sophomore campaign, the Texans’ front seven will be the best in the business.
The secondary here starts and ends at the boundaries where corners Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson and Kevin Johnson have formed quite the impressive group of cover guys. The three helped Houston yield an 82.8 quarterback rating a season ago.
All this seems to be an indication that Houston will trot out the top overall defense in the NFL this upcoming season.
2. Denver Broncos
Despite losing defensive end Malik Jackson and linebacker Danny Trevathan in free agency, the Broncos’ defense remains stacked. After all, this is a unit that finished first in total defense, first against the pass and third against the run last season.
Losing two players from that squad doesn’t necessarily change the fact that Denver remains one of the most-talented teams in terms of defense.
Like Watt in Houston, it starts with one player. And while there is obviously a contract stalemate between Von Miller and the Broncos, the expectation here has to be that he will be ready to make an impact when the season comes calling.
Speaking of making an impact, Miller, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, has been absolutely dominating in recent years. He’s put up double-digit sacks in four of his first five years in the NFL, including 11 a season ago.
Miller also racked up five sacks in the final two games last season, including 2.5 in the Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Joining Miller on a defensive front that gets to the quarterback as much as any in the league are DeMarcus Ware and Derek Wolfe who combined for 13 sacks last season. Add in youngsters Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray, both of whom boast double-digit sack potential, and there’s even more optimism for 2016.
With such a dominating front seven, it’s not hard to believe just how good the Broncos’ secondary performed a season ago. They yielded a 78.8 rating while allowing just 19 touchdown passes compared to 14 interceptions.
Whether Aqib Talib is punished for his latest off-field incident remains to be seen. And in reality, that could have a major impact here.
He’s among the top cover guys in the NFL. Though, there’s more than just one man making up for the success on this unit. Chris Harris remains one of the top slot guys in the league, and former first-round pick Bradley Roby stepped up in a larger role as a sophomore last year.
Add in the Pro Bowl caliber play of T.J. Ward at safety, and the Broncos’ defense will remain dominant this upcoming season.
3. Arizona Cardinals
The addition of Chandler Jones is going to be huge for Arizona. If there was any area of this defense that struggled last season it was pressure from the EDGE positions.
Veteran Dwight Freeney led the team with eight sacks. After that, not a single returning member of this unit put up more than five sacks. Enter into the equation a player in Jones who recorded 12.5 sacks a season ago, and that’s an area the team addressed big time.
Doubling down on the pass-rush position, Arizona also added former Mississippi standout Robert Nkemdiche in the first round. He’s an ultra-talented defensive end with an ability to rack up double-digit sacks.
This is going to be huge for a secondary that’s right up there with Seattle and Denver as the best in the game. We already know about Patrick Peterson, but Tyrann Mathieu is quickly making a name for himself as the best ball-hawk in the entire league. He recorded 89 tackles, five interceptions and 18 passes defended a season ago.
With increased pass rush, the Cardinals should be even batter in terms of takeaways. That’s a scary proposition for opposing NFC West teams considering this unit forced 33 turnovers a season ago.
4. Seattle Seahawks
Yes, the Legion of Boom was still pretty dominant last season. pic.twitter.com/ZMbPVyn9Av
— Sportsnaut (@Sportsnaut) June 13, 2016
The Legion of Boom lost a bit of its intimidating presence a season ago, but let’s not mistake that for widespread regression.
Seattle still ranked second in total defense, second against the pass and yielded an absurdly low 78.8 quarterback rating last year. It also finished first against the run. That is some utter domination right there.
Overall, the Seahawks yielded 10 points or less in seven outings during the regular season, including a total of 19 points in three late-season outings against Minnesota, Baltimore and Arizona.
For Seattle, it still starts and stops in the secondary where both Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman remain the best in the game at their respective positions. Sherman yielded a sub 70.0 quarterback rating last year while Thomas recorded a team-high five interceptions.
For the Seahawks to remain at this level, they’re going to need more production from a pass-rush standpoint. And in reality, that’s why they are not in the top three here.
Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril combined for 19 sacks. But both are aging and primed for some sort of regression moving forward. Outside of that, there’s not a lot to see here. Bruce Irvin was third on the team with 5.5 sacks. He’s now an Oakland Raider.
Someone from a group of Frank Clark and Chris Clemons is going to have to step up if Seattle hopes to remain dominant on defense. If that happens, we are surely looking at a top-five unit in 2016.
5. Carolina Panthers
Losing Josh Norman could hurt here, but Carolina’s success a season ago on defense was more predicated on its ability to put up a dominant pass rush.
Carolina racked up the sixth-most sacks in the NFL in 2015, a clear indication that this aspect of the team’s defense played a huge role in its success. That’s only magnified by the league-best 73.5 quarterback rating the Panthers yielded.
With Norman now in Washington, it’s going to be extremely important for rookies James Bradberry and Daryl Worley to step into big roles without experiencing much of a learning curve.
It’s also going to be important for the team’s pass rush to continue its domination. This starts along the interior of the defensive line with Kawann Short, who is among the best pass-rushing defensive tackles in the league.
If defensive end Charles Johnson can return to earlier-career form after struggling with injuries last season, Carolina’s pass rush will be even better.
It is, however, the coverage abilities of linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis that makes this unit tick. Their ability to act as solid underneath coverage makes the team’s secondary that much better. This won’t change in 2016.
6. Cincinnati Bengals
Michael Johnson’s return to Cincinnati after an off season in Tampa Bay really helped the Bengals improve from a pass-rush standpoint. They finished in the top 10 of the NFL in sacks (42) after putting up a league-worst 20 the previous season.
Johnson, Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins combined for 29.5 sacks, providing Cincinnati with the necessary pass rush to help out an increasingly competent secondary.
Moving on from Leon Hall being the face of this unit, the likes of Dre Kirkpatrick, Adam Jones, George Iloka and Shawn Williams all played at high levels. Add in sophomore first-round pick Darqueze Dennard and rookie William Jackson III, and this unit should be vastly improved from a season ago.
7. New York Jets
Interestingly enough, New York’s success on defense was more predicated on interior pass rush than on strong play from the EDGE positions or in the secondary. That’s an odd realization for a team that runs a base 3-4 scheme under head coach Todd Bowles.
The defensive line trio of Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams combined for 20 sacks while a total of seven players tallied three-plus quarterback take downs on the season. Add in the likely emergence of Lorenzo Mauldin this season, and this area is going to be a continued strength.
Also a strength, New York’s secondary was more than up for the task a season ago. While the Jets did rank in the bottom third of the NFL in passing yards allowed, they yielded a 79.0 quarterback rating.
Regression from Darrelle Revis in his first season back in New York wasn’t enough for this aspect of the team’s defense to take a step back. Some of that had to do with the performances of safeties Calvin Pryor and Marcus Gilchrist. Though, it’s more than likely the team’s pass rush played a larger role here.
As it is, the Jets have enough talent on all three tiers of the defense to continue performing at a high level. That much is clear.
8. Minnesota Vikings
A young defense that’s clearly on the rise, the 2016 season could very well be when this unit breaks out big time. Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, both former first-round picks, have another year of experience under their belt.
Harrison Smith has proven himself to be among the top safeties in the entire game. Meanwhile, Minnesota was able to add a high-upside corner in Mackensie Alexander in the second round of this year’s draft. That’s a whole heck of a lot of talent in the secondary.
Though, it really is the surplus of elite-level options in the front seven that should have other NFC North squads worried. Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr represent one of the best young linebacker tandems in the game.
Everson Griffen has proven himself to be among the most-consistent pass-rushing defensive ends in the game, racking up 22.5 sacks over the past two seasons. Meanwhile, Brian Robison continues to fly under the radar on the other end as a solid guy against the run.
If Minnesota can continue to see improvements from its young core on defense, the ceiling really is the limit here.
9. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo finished last season 19th in total defense and 15th in scoring defense. Despite the talent on this unit, mediocrity was the name of the game in Rex Ryan’s first season as the team’s head coach.
We can expect a vastly different defense in Ryan’s second season. First off, most of the prominent players will have a full year of experience in his complex scheme.
The biggest issue last season was a lack of a pass rush, as Buffalo racked up the second-fewest sacks (21) in the NFL. Gone is an under-performing Mario Williams, which opens up a spot for rookie first-round pick Shaq Lawson to make an impact out of the gate.
He’ll be joined by a duo of solid veteran pass rushers in Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes along Buffalo’s defensive line. If this area of its defense improves, the rest of Buffalo’s defense will follow in line.
Stephon Gilmore proved himself to be among the best young corners in the NFL. Meanwhile, Ronald Darby might have been the most-impressive rookie cover guy in the league last season. Add in slot guy Nickell Robey, and the Bills’ secondary has a chance to be elite in 2016.
10. Oakland Raiders
General manager Reggie McKenzie targeted reinforcements in a struggling secondary during the spring, adding top-end corner Sean Smith and former Pro Bowl safety Reggie Nelson to the mix in free agency. He then doubled down in the secondary with strong safety Karl Joseph in the first round.
That’s a whole heck of a lot more talent than what Oakland had in the secondary a season ago.
Considering Oakland boasts one of the top defensive fronts in the entire AFC, this is going to go a long way in helping build a contender in the AFC West.
Khalil Mack might have been the second-best defensive player in the NFL last season behind J.J. Watt. He recorded 77 tackles, 15 sacks and two forced fumbles as a sophomore last season. Former Pro Bowler Aldon Smith will join him for the stretch run after he serves his one-year suspension.
Those two will also be joined by former Seattle Seahawks first-round pick Bruce Irvin at linebacker.
That’s a ton of young high-upside talent on a defense that ranked in the bottom quarter of the NFL last season. Look for a dramatic improvement from Ken Norton’s unit in 2016.