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2021 Fantasy Football Week 5 D/ST Rankings

Who wants to talk about quarterbacks and running backs when you can talk about defenses and special teams (D/ST) units! If you’re like me, you probably are changing your team defense on a weekly basis, looking for the optimal matchup to exploit. Well, that’s exactly what I am hoping to accomplish today. Today, let us take a look at Week 5 D/ST rankings!

I’ll go through my process of evaluating defenses, before getting into the specifics for the week! Who is going to be the 30-point defense this week? Let us find out!

First, we need to analyze how effective each D/ST unit has been for fantasy purposes this year. However, this doesn’t come from looking at previous fantasy points. See, turnovers (interceptions and fumbles) can be rather unstable on a week-to-week basis, making them difficult to rely on. Thus, to identify who the top defenses have been, we need to take that out of the equation.


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This leads me to my new implied points statistic for D/ST units. Based on the number of points they have allowed and the sacks they’ve totaled up, we can see how many points a D/ST unit SHOULD be averaging per week:

Now, we’re still early into the season, but as more games are played, this will become more meaningful. The Bills and Panthers have gotten off to a great start taking advantage of poor offenses, while the Bengals, Browns, and Bears have performed extremely well this year. It will be interesting to see how these two defenses fare against tougher opponents down the stretch.

Next, it is time to dissect some other key factors. These defenses are projected by the betting markets to allow the fewest amount of points this week:

DefenseDifferenceImplied PointsFantasy PPG
BUF3.71219.787913.5
CAR-3.27119.47116.2
CLE-1.92079.42077.5
DEN0.66019.13999.8
CHI0.39298.60719
CIN-2.13198.13196
NE-0.78797.98797.2
MIN-1.76477.76476
NYJ-3.16397.66394.5
LAR-2.81837.31834.5
ARI3.26817.231910.5
LAC-0.58797.08796.5
BAL-1.67916.87915.2
DAL2.56896.23118.8
NO3.64816.15199.8
LV-1.87996.07994.2
SEA-1.77755.77754
PIT-0.53435.73435.2
SF-1.17675.67674.5
IND2.46735.53278
PHI-0.88155.38154.5
DET-2.62235.12232.5
GB-0.98554.98554
NYG-1.34154.84153.5
TEN-2.82714.82712
TB2.76654.73357.5
MIA1.16734.63275.8
HOU-0.67914.17913.5
ATL-2.67914.17911.5
WAS-1.37673.87672.5
JAX0.06013.73993.8
KC-0.22553.72553.5

More Week 5 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | PPR | Flex

FEWEST PROJECTED POINTS ALLOWED

  1. Patriots
  2. Buccaneers
  3. Steelers
  4. Raiders
  5. Ravens
  6. Broncos
  7. Panthers
  8. Saints

Meanwhile, these defenses will face opposing quarterbacks with the highest pressure rate:

HIGHEST OPPOSING QB PRESSURE RATE

  1. Ravens
  2. Buccaneers
  3. Falcons
  4. Raiders
  5. Washington
  6. Chiefs
  7. Colts
  8. Rams

Lastly, these defenses will face opposing quarterbacks with the highest turnover-worthy play rate:

HIGHEST OPPOSING QB TURNOVER-WORTHY PLAY RATE

  1. Patriots
  2. Falcons
  3. Titans
  4. Buccaneers
  5. Chiefs
  6. Broncos
  7. Raiders
  8. Saints

Week 5 D/ST Rankings

Hopefully, this helps illustrate my process when it comes to my Week 5 D/ST rankings. Speaking of which, here they are!

RnkDefenseOpponent
1NEHOU
2TBMIA
3PITDEN
4DENPIT
5BALIND
6NOWSH
7WSHNO
8CARPHI
9MINDET
10ATLNYJ
11TENJAX
12LVCHI
13PHICAR
14ARISF
15CHILV
16LACCLE
17CLELAC
18GBCIN
19LARSEA
20DALNYG
21NYJATL
22HOUNE
23INDBAL
24CINGB
25SFARI
26DETMIN
27JAXTEN
28NYGDAL
29SEALAR
30MIATB
31BUFKC
32KCBUF

More fantasy football fun for Week 5: Waiver Wire | FAAB Guide | Buy-Low, Sell-High Trade Targets | Start & Sit | Loves & Hates | Stock Watch | Sleepers & Streamers | QB Streamers | D/ST Streamers |


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