For much of Cincinnati's five-straight winning seasons, defense has been a big reason why the team has won so many games.
They've also been a unit that's helped fantasy owners get solid production from a position that doesn't get much publicity. The defense/special teams may only give you 10-15 fantasy points per week if it's a good unit, but that still will be the difference in the several close games you're bound to be in.
While the Bengals defense was a unit you rarely, if ever looked to use in 2014, they re-emerged into a great fantasy defense last year. A big reason why was the re-emergence of Geno Atkins, who's been a big reason why this unit has been so good since 2011.
Atkins has easily been one of the game's best defenders over that span while dominating the interior of the trenches. He causes so much chaos in the middle, which leads to many sacks. Atkins and the front seven wreaking so much havoc also leads to a lot more interceptions, many of which being lame ducks as a result of pressure, which any skilled defensive back could pick off.
Schedule wise, the Bengals have a pretty good slate of games against a lot of mediocre offenses. A big plus is getting to face the lowly Browns and rebuilding Ravens twice. Those offenses shouldn't succeed against the Bengals defense, assuming they come to play.
The Giants, Cowboys, Eagles and Washington in the NFC East may be the weakest division in terms of overall offensive firepower. The Broncos, Bills, Dolphins and Jets don't offer much offensively either. The only real scary games are vs the Patriots and two dates with the Steelers. Even Pittsburgh isn't as scary with Martavis Bryant out for the year and Le'Veon Bell possibly missing the Week 2 matchup.
Stats wise, the Bengals finished with 21 INTs in 2015, good for the third-most. They also allowed the second-fewest touchdown passes at 18. With Adam Jones, Darqueze Dennard, Shawn Williams, George Iloka and Dre Kirkpatrick, this unit should remain one of the league's best against the pass.
That bodes well for this unit scoring almost, if not as many turnovers this year, even with Reggie Nelson departing. A big reason why is George Iloka returns after injuries plagued him in 2015, when he had just one turnover forced.
From 2013-14, Iloka forced six turnovers (4 INT, 2 FF) compared to Nelson's seven over that span (6 INT, 1 FF). A healthy Iloka shouldn't be much, if any dropoff in this regard.
The sacks should also remain the same with Atkins, Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson returning. We may even see the amount of sacks increase as the players are all healthy and hitting a groove together.
As far as run defense, the Billings may also serve as an upgrade in that regard. It's no secret Peko has been a liability at times, especially as the season wears on. Billings, if nothing else, gives more depth here so that Peko doesn't play as many snaps this year, which hopefully leads to more productive snaps when he is in.
Speaking of run defense, with six of seven returning starters from last year's front seven, this should be an area the Bengals do well in again. Cincinnati's defense allowed the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game (97.2) and were tied for the fifth-fewest rushing scores (5), not to mention allowing the second-fewest points per game (17.4) behind only Seattle. Expect those numbers to be similar in 2016.
The big Achilles' heel of this unit is the special teams, which aren't going to offer much of anything in terms of returner yardage and scores. Brandon Tate is projected to be the primary returner this year, and he's easily one of the league's weakest returners in terms of big plays and scoring.
But in today's NFL with so many touchbacks and punts ending in fair catches, having a bad return unit doesn't offer much separation between great units like the Bengals and others. Still, it would be nice to see how much fantasy production the Bengals' defense/special teams would put up with a more explosive return game.
Let's take a look at what various experts are saying about the Bengals' defense for fantasy football:
- NFL.com has the Bengals defense ranked eighth overall.
- Fantasy Pros ranks the unit ninth overall.
- FFtoday ranks the Bengals 15th overall in projected defensive scoring in 2016.
- ESPN is very high on this unit, ranking Cincinnati's defense as the third-best in the NFL this year.
- CBS Sports' three-man fantasy screw all have the Bengals defense ranked in the top 10, with Dave Richard having this unit ranked sixth.
I'd lean more toward the highest ranking of third than the lowest of 15th for the Bengals' defense in 2016. This unit just has too much talent to not be putting up big points this year, so long as your league rewards teams for sacks and turnovers forced.
As for where to target the Bengals defense in your fantasy drafts, it's not a unit you're going to see as one of the 3-5 first defenses to go off the board, but once that run of defenses going off the board begins late in your draft, don't hesitate to pounce on this unit.