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Fantasy Football Sleepers 2018: Defense/Special Teams

Everyone's looking for defense sleepers, but which D/STs stand out as potential breakouts? We offer up several defenses who could easily outpace their preseason projections and rankings.

Defense sleepers are a dime a dozen -- there are new ones every week if you're willing to play the matchups and be active on the waiver wire. But a lot of fantasy football owners aren't willing to play that game, which leads to them overdrafting D/STs in August and September. What if there's a way to split the difference? Save that valuable mid-round draft pick and still get a defense that can outproduce its preseason projections? Who wouldn't like that?

Maybe more than any other position, defense is susceptible to matchups, so it's tough to draft a unit low in the rankings and get someone you can count on every week. But there are still several teams that look like breakout candidates heading into this season. A few more lucky bounces when it comes to takeaways or a few more missed tackles on returns can easily vault a middling D/ST into the top 10 for the season. Talent, particularly talented pass rushers and defensive backs, has a way of creating big plays, and that always gives you a fighting chance in fantasy football.

DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2018 fantasy football cheat sheet

Again, matchups are always going to be the most crucial factor when selecting a D/ST for a given week, so not all of the following units can even be trusted in Week 1, but they still have upside and are worth filing away in your mental cheat sheet.





    Buffalo's three returning starters in the secondary each had at least four interceptions, and if newcomer Vontae Davis is healthy, Buffalo will have a legit chance to lead the league in INTs.



    2018 RANKINGS:


    For early-season D/ST sleepers, click here.