Let’s pay our respects to the folks who do not get a lot of
respect - the kickers and defense/special teams units that help
decide our fantasy fates every week.
Kickers
Rk
Player
Tm
Age
1
Brandon Aubrey
DAL
30
2
Wil Lutz
DEN
31
3
Chris Boswell
PIT
34
4
Cameron Dicker
LAC
25
5
Chase McLaughlin
TB
29
6
Will Reichard
MIN
24
7
Tyler Loop
BAL
24
8
Jake Bates
DET
26
9
Ka'imi Fairbairn
HOU
31
10
Matt Gay
WAS
31
11
Daniel Carlson
LV
30
12
Jake Elliott
PHI
30
Now, the defenses…
Let’s revisit the color-coding system before we start:
Red – For a second-tier D/ST, this is
generally a bad option to start that week (high-powered offense,
low-turnover offense or both). For elite D/STs, expect them to
struggle to create sacks/turnovers.
Yellow – For a second-tier D/ST, this
is a questionable start at best. For the elite D/STs, expect average
production.
White – This one can go either way, but
I favor the D/ST over the matchup. For the elite D/STs, expect
above-average production.
Green – For non-elite D/STs, the stage
is set for a productive day. For the elite D/ST, this matchup
is about as good as it gets.
“SD” refers to schedule difficulty. (The bigger the
number, the more favorable the schedule.) In short, here is how
I scored each matchup:
Green - two points White - one point Yellow - minus-1 Red - minus-2
As you can tell, the defenses were not ranked based entirely
on schedule difficulty, but it is the primary factor I consider
after I completed my matchup analysis - which takes into account
a host of variables, including each defense's aggressiveness and
the offense's propensity for allowing sacks and committing turnovers.
Doug Orth has served as an analyst for FF Today since 2006 and
joined the Fantasy Points team before the start of the 2024 season.
He is also a highly successful high-stakes player who has not experienced
a losing money season in any of his 25 years in this hobby. Please
check him out on "The Football Diehards" podcast - courtesy
of Full Time Fantasy - on Wednesday nights with co-host JJ Wenner.
