We are now at what is expected to be the penultimate Team Defense and IDP Pre-Season report, as the regular season is set to kick off in September. Let us turn our attention to the top sack producing defense of 2016, the Arizona Cardinals. To be clear, there was a great deal of free agent action this past off-season that has affected the Cardinals defense, notably the losses of Calais Campbell, Tony Jefferson, D.J. Swearinger and Marcus Cooper. Understandably with the that sort of defection from the defensive ranks, the team also turned to free agency to address their needs, and brought in Antoine Bethea and also drafted a pair of rookies that are expected to make a statement this season in LB Haason Reddick and DB Budda Baker. Make no mistake, this is projecting to be a top-10 defense to target in your drafts in 2017, with several IDP to keep in mind on draft day.

The team is going to feature a 3-4 defense in 2017, and the front line is a question with the loss of Campbell. The Arizona defense will feature veteran DE Frostee Rucker and 2016 first round pick DE Robert Nkemdiche at the ends. Corey Peters is plugged in as the nose tackle, and the former third-round pick of the Falcons, if healthy, projects to be a solid run stuffer type of DL, who has limited fantasy appeal but will help his DL-line mates get pressure on the passer and also free up the ILBs to make plays on a regular basis. Both Rucker and Nkemdiche will be relied upon to pressure the opposing QB. In a deep DL leagues, Nkemdiche is the call here, especially in dynasty or keeper leagues. Rucker is too long in the tooth to rely upon except as a week-to-week option.

Linebacker is a strength of the Arizona defensive scheme. The team is projecting Chandler Jones and Markus Golden on the outside, with Deone Bucannon and Karlos Dansby as the inside LBs. A big question remains about Buchanon, who had off-season surgery to correct an ankle issue, and he may not start the season on the active roster. If that is an issue, then rookie Haason Reddick could end up starting to open the season. He was not a first round pick to sit on the bench if his services are needed. Dansby will rack up tackles, especially with a defensive line that may not be strong. He is a later round LB to keep in mind in deeper IDP leagues or to have on waiver wire call if you need a good replacement during the season due to injury or benching. The outside LBs are the guys to target here, however, given their sack production in 2016, and those are the LBs on the Cardinals to select as the draft season progresses. As far as the backups, keep an eye open for Scooby Wright (love that name!) for special team's use, if your league provides points for that special set of skills, or Kareem Martin as a backup OLB if injuries force the team to seek an alternative to either Jones or Goodman.

Defensive back is loaded on this squad, with Tyrann Mathieu at free safety and Antoine Bethea at strong safety, then putting out Patrick Peterson and either Justin Bethel or Brandon Williams at CB. The smart money in IDP leagues is to avoid Peterson, since offensive coordinators will try to avoid passing to his side of the field. Thus, both Bethel and Williams, whoever gets the playing time, are good options for tackles and big plays. Mattieu did not perform up to expectations in 2016. coming off his second injury plagued season, but the team is hoping he is back at close to 100% in 2017. Watch the preseason games closely if you want to add him to your IDP squad. Bethea is a solid veteran, but not worthy of more than DB3 attention. Backups SS. Tyvon Branch, rookie FS/CB fusion Budda Baker and DB Harlan Miller are all valuable for real football, but not players you want to target in fantasy.

This defense will again play well, assuming the injury bug does not bite hard in the current season. Despite losing a bunch of valuable pieces from 2016 to free agency, the team has drafted well and picked up free agents to plug apparent holes in 2017 The TD is worthy of top-10 consideration in your drafts, just do not over-draft them on that special day when you put together your starting Week 1 lineup.

 

As ever, good luck and Godspeed in your fantasy efforts. Make certain to read all of our great articles to help you win your fantasy match ups every week and ultimately bask in championship glory. If you have any fantasy football questions, especially about IDP leagues, send your inquires to ia@fantasyalarm.com.