The ESPN fantasy football marathon concludes with an analysis of the New York Jets’ defense and special teams:
ESPN Fantasy Projection: 49 sacks, 13.7 interceptions, 3.4 TDs
Over or under: They will fall short of 49 sacks, which would represent an increase of 10 from last season. The Jets have a potentially dominant defensive line, with Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams, but they don't have a proven edge rusher. That's an important component in a 3-4 scheme. The Big Three should get at least 25 sacks among them, but where are the rest coming from?
They should surpass the interception projection. Coach Todd Bowles plays an aggressive scheme, forcing quarterbacks to throw sooner than they'd like. That usually leads to interceptions. One thing to remember: The Jets face a lot of very good quarterbacks -- Andy Dalton, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer and Joe Flacco in the first two months of the season. It means they're not going to get too many cheap interceptions. This is a heady group of quarterbacks that doesn't commit too many turnovers. And don't forget, they face Tom Brady (twice) and Andrew Luck later in the season.
The bottom line is, the Jets have the talent to be a top-10 defense, but it will be hard to be dynamic in a fantasy sense.
Don't put much stock in the special teams. They're rebuilding under a new coordinator and don't have any established punt and kickoff returners on the roster.
