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It’s getting close to last call for any NFL teams to make meaningful defensive personnel additions before the start of the season.
With training camps and the preseason winding down, a handful of veteran contributors – including Jadveon Clowney, Von Miller and Za’Darius Smith – have all settled on landing spots. The cut deadline, along with accompanying waiver claims and trade opportunities, will provide front offices and coaching staffs with one final chance to reshape their defensive outlooks ahead of Week 1.
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After our initial breakdown earlier in the summer, here are our updated rankings of every NFL team’s defense, sorted from first to worst:
In shoring up its depth at edge rusher by signing Jadeveon Clowney, Houston now stands without a readily evident vulnerability on defense. This fall could be the year that the Texans create some separation from the pack as the NFL’s most outright dominant outfit. While Houston trailed only Seattle for the league lead at 1.54 points allowed per drive last season, no unit was better at forcing three-and-outs (29.4%) or ranked higher in defensive expected points added per play (-0.18), according to Next Gen Stats. The group doesn’t rely on surprises, with coach DeMeco Ryans preferring instead to let the overwhelming pass rush and vise-grip secondary simply overwhelm opponents. With almost all notable contributors back and some additional help (safety Reed Blankenship, second-round defensive tackle Kayden McDonald) joining, Houston looks as intimidating as ever. And barring injury, things might stay this way for quite a while for a crew that largely consists of stars in their early-to-mid 20s.
Focusing on Seattle’s lone blemish of questionable depth on the back end might seem like nitpicking. But with the defending champs taking fliers on Trevon Diggs and Terrion Arnold – with the latter still not officially signed – and losing second-round safety Bud Clark for the season, it’s enough of a concern to keep the Seahawks out of the top slot. Still, it seems highly unlikely that Mike Macdonald’s group will be subject to the volatility other top units are….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ranking-nfl-defenses-first-worst-094718566.html
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Publish date : 2026-08-28 09:47:00
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