How to handle kicker and defense in best ball

Championship rosters in best ball fantasy football leagues are not littered only with the glitz and glam of early-round studs and breakout smash picks. Late-round diamond mining is a must as well. The search for small edges, especially in overall roster construction, is imperative. As the field sharpens, these tiny legs up are vital to put your teams over the top. Kicker and team defense are two positions that (understandably) don’t get enough love in the fantasy realm — the positional variance and replaceability of both are high, but hitting on those positions can be a difference-maker in the final standings. In the quest to kick those best ball win rates up, let’s explore defensive and kicker best ball roster construction, and then dive in on some of my top picks at both positions for 2020.

Defensive draft strategy

The separation of the top fantasy defense from the last "startable" one is slim. From 2016 to 2019, the top-ranked defense in fantasy versus the 12th-ranked defense is separated by, on average, 4.77 fantasy points per game. The reasoning behind allocating higher draft equity and reaching for a presumed "top defense" is flimsy. Over the last four seasons, 45.8% of defenses that have finished inside the top 12 have been undrafted in 12-team leagues. 

Depending on your best ball site of choice, the number of defenses drafted for optimal roster formation can vary some. From 2017 to 2019, in the Fantasy Football Players Championship, selecting three defenses held the highest win rate at 9.8% (average is 8.3%) while also accounting for 46.5% of builds. In Best Ball 10s, drafting two or three defenses held the highest win rates at 8.6% and 8.9%, respectively. The more common draft strategy of the two was a two-defense build, which accounted for 69.9% of the teams drafted.

(I would be negligent if I didn't state the obvious here, but regardless of how many defenses you select, be mindful of bye weeks, ensuring they are not the same week.)

Defensive draft targets

Here are my top 15 defenses to consider in best-ball drafts for 2020

1. Baltimore Ravens: The Baltimore secondary is filthy with a starting trio of Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, and Marcus Peters all returning. Last year, Peters was the final piece for fantasy dominance, as the Ravens were the No. 1 defense in fantasy after his arrival. The Ravens pass rush led by Matt Judon, Calais Campbell, and Derek Wolfe is no slouch either. 

2. Pittsburgh Steelers: T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree return to wreak havoc on opposing offensive lines. The Steelers’ acquisition of Minkah Fitzpatrick in a midseason trade last year was a game-changer — Pittsburgh was the second-ranked defense in fantasy after Fitzpatrick arrived. Corners Joe Haden and Steve Nelson remain a strong pairing on the outside. Neither corner allowed higher than a 73.4 quarterback rating in coverage last year. 

3. New England Patriots: Stephon Gilmore spearheads a stellar secondary, as the Patriots return each of their starting corners and safeties. Drafting Josh Uche will help ease the losses of Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins. Over the last eight years, no team has repeated as the top fantasy defense. Ranking the Patriots third is not a slight to the team’s defense; it’s merely a nod to variance at the position. 

4. San Francisco 49ers: In replacing DeForest Buckner with Javon Kinlaw, the 49ers front continues to offer a fearsome foursome. Adding Kinlaw to Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa, and Dee Ford should keep the pressure on. If Akhello Witherspoon can stay healthy and Richard Sherman can avoid the age cliff, pass defense will again be a strength in San Francisco.

5. New Orleans Saints: The Saints were among the league’s best at pressuring the passer last year. Much of that can be attributed to Cameron Jordan maintaining his all-pro play with a career-best 15.5 sacks. If Marcus Davenport continues to mature, the Saints have the makings of a top-shelf defense in all phases. 

6. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings gutted their cornerback room, letting Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, and Mackensie Alexander all walk out the door. Alexander’s prowess in the slot will be sorely missed; Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith will have to remain among the league’s elite for this secondary not to become a problem. Minnesota is pushing their chips to the middle and betting that rookie corners Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler can avoid first-year struggles.

7. Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers spent the offseason addressing a bottom-10 rush defense by drafting Kenneth Murray and signing Nick Vigil and Linval Joseph. Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa return to get after the quarterback. If a full season of Derwin James and bouncebacks for Chris Harris and Desmond King are in the cards, this unit can be elite. 

8. Buffalo Bills: After losing their top two sack leaders from last season in Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson, the Bills had to address the pass rush in the draft. Drafting A.J. Epenesa will help, but he still has some big shoes to fill on the Bills line. The Bills have questions about sacks but not their ability to cover receivers. The secondary boasts a top-shelf trio in Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer, and Michah Hyde. 

9. Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs defense is always underrated despite finishing as a top-12 defense in each of the last four seasons. With the likes of Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and Tyrann Mathieu, the Chiefs still have top talent to keep pace on the defensive side. 

10. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles run defense needs no help after finishing as a top-five group last year. Philly did, however, address its weaknesses at corner bringing in shadow shutdown specialist Darius Slay and slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman. If Jalen Mills' transition to safety goes according to plan, this defense could easily be among the top 10. 

11. Chicago Bears: Losing starters in Leonard Floyd, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, and Prince Amukamara is undoubtedly going to hurt. Chicago’s expectations for Artie Burns or Jaylon Johnson to step into Amukamara’s starting role are aggressively hopeful. This defense is flush with enough high-end talents — like Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith, and Eddie Jackson — to remain above average. Unless their corners play above expectations, this defense’s days as a topflight group are numbered. 

12. Denver Broncos: The injury bug’s bite ran deep for this defense last year, as Bryce Callahan and Bradley Chubb only mustered a combined four games. This defense won’t realize its potential if that relapses. A.J. Bouye is a dice roll after mostly face planting in the No. 1 corner role last year in Jacksonville. If all of the stars align and Von Miller can hold off father time, this defense has the potential to out kick expectations. 

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: In their first season under Todd Bowles, the Bucs were among the league’s best against the run. Shaquil Barrett was the Bucs’ sack engine, breaking out in a big way with 19.5 sacks. After multiple weeks of rotating the secondary, the Bucs might have found keepers in Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting. On talent alone, this defense should be ranked higher, but considering the gauntlet of NFC South offenses, the Bucs get bumped down a peg. 

14. Tennessee Titans: The Titans rush defense was stellar in 2019, but their secondary was problematic on a week-to-week basis. A healthy Adoree’ Jackson and the addition of Kristian Fulton could change that, however. Tennessee has one of the most talented linebacking groups in the NFL with Vic Beasley, Harold Landry, Jayon Brown, and Rashaan Evans. If Jackson can stay healthy and competent corner play can emerge beside him, Tennessee has an upper echelon upside. 

15. Los Angeles Rams: Any defensive unit that is led by Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald can’t be dismissed outright. The Rams’ losses this offseason were many with Dante Fowler, Eric Weddle, Clay Matthews, Cory Littleton, and Nickell Robey-Coleman all gone. A’Shawn Robinson and Leonard Floyd will help lessen the impact of those departures, but this defense is going to need some breakout players to match last season’s top-five fantasy finish. 

5 defensive sleepers

Here are five defenses that will be routinely drafted late that could crack the top 12 or provide usable spike weeks. 

• Cleveland Browns: The return of Myles Garrett and his 23.5 sacks over the last two years is massive for the Browns. With Garrett and company applying the pressure, the back end of the Browns' defense has the talent to take a gigantic step forward this year. Denzel Ward has been a shutdown corner in spurts. Greedy Williams passed the eye test in year one, and the Browns upgraded the safety position with the drafting of Grant Delpit. 

• New York Giants: The Giants took significant steps to fortify their defense in free agency. Teaming James Bradberry with Deandre Baker is a massive boost for their pass coverage. Dave Gettleman also injected more juice into a top-10 run defense. Former Packer tackle monster Blake Martinez lifts a defense that had problems wrapping up the opposition last year. The Giants allowed the 10th-most yards after contact last year. The New York defense is set to surprise this year. 

• Green Bay Packers: The Packers return the heart and soul of their defense with Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Kevin King, and Jaire Alexander all back. The Packers are a perfect option for best ball, as Mike Pettine has a long track record of ceding rushing production to opposing offenses. Against weaker rushing teams, the room for explosive weeks is there; the Packers logged eight games last year with win rates above 8.5%. 

• New York Jets: All Adam Gase jokes aside, the defense was quite good last year as the seventh overall defense in fantasy. The Jets return a run-stopping group that was top-three in 2019. The cornerback depth chart remains a work in progress. With Brian Poole handling the slot and Pierre Desir outside, there is hope. The Jets scored 17 or more fantasy points in three games last year, so the boom week potential exists. 

• Miami Dolphins: If Xavien Howard can bounce back, the Dolphins can be one of the better sleeper defenses in fantasy. South Beach signing Byron Jones can eliminate half of the field. Shaq Lawson and Kyle Van Noy are under-the-radar additions who will help in the sack department.

Kicker draft strategy

Much like fantasy defenses, the kicker position is highly volatile. Only two kickers in 2019 had more than one week as the top-scoring kicker in fantasy — Harrison Butker led the way with three weeks, and Kai Forbath racked up two. Over the past six seasons, only one kicker (Stephen Gostkowski, 2014-2015) has repeated as the top-scoring kicker in fantasy. The common-sense narrative of targeting kickers attached to good offenses does hold some water. Over the last three years, 58.3% of the top-12 kickers were connected with the top-12 scoring offenses. In FFPC, the optimal build is rostering three kickers, which held the highest win rate at 9.5%. 

Kicker draft targets

Here are my top-12 kickers to target in best-ball drafts as well as two kickers drafted outside the top-24 that are attached to offenses that could surprise. 

1. Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs: Kicking for arguably the league’s top offense has its perks. Butker has the best shot since Stephen Gostkowski to repeat as the kicker king. 

2. Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens: Tucker has the perfect mix of situation and efficiency to dethrone Butker this year. The Ravens were the top-scoring offense in 2019. Tucker has hit at least 91.9% of his kicks in two of his last three seasons. 

3. Greg Zuerlein, Dallas Cowboys: Last year, if Brett Maher and Kai Forbath had been a singular entity, (Dallas kicker) would have finished as the third overall kicker in fantasy.

4. Wil Lutz, New Orleans Saints: The Saints will again challenge for the league lead in points scored. Lutz is as steady as they come, missing only six field goals over the last two seasons. 

5. Younghoe Koo, Atlanta Falcons: Koo led all kickers in fantasy points per game last season with 11.6. The Falcons have the offensive firepower to give Koo plenty of short kicks. 

6. Matt Gay, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Gay attempted the third-most field goals in the NFL last season. With Tom Brady in town extending drives, that number doesn’t look to be diminishing. 

7. Zane Gonzalez, Arizona Cardinals: Second-year Kyler Murray and Arizona should play faster this year. More plays equal more kicking opportunities for Gonzalez in 2020. 

8. Robbie Gould, San Francisco 49ers: Gould has finished among the top 10 in fantasy points per game at the kicker position in each of the last three years. 

9. Joey Slye, Carolina Panthers: Slye finished as a top-10 kicker last year with Kyle Allen under center. With Joe Brady at the controls and Teddy Bridgewater in shotgun, the Panthers offense should have no issues moving the ball. 

10. Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos: McManus finished inside the top 10 at the position last year. MacManus did so despite Joe Flacco leading the offense to a pitiful 15.6 points per game over the first eight games. 

11. Dan Bailey, Minnesota Vikings: Minnesota’s offense carried Bailey to a top-12 finish in fantasy points per game last year. 

12. Josh Lambo, Jacksonville Jaguars: Lambo was nearly automatic last year, hitting 97.1% of his kicks. 

Last-round kicker targets

• Randy Bullock, Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals offense is primed for liftoff this season with Joe Burrow zipping passes and A.J. Green back in the huddle.

• Chase McLaughlin, Indianapolis Colts: In Weeks 9-17, McLaughlin had the eighth-most points at the kicker position. With Philip Rivers in town, the field goal opportunities look to be trending upward.