Fantasy Football: Baltimore Ravens D/ST the best unit entering 2020

D/ST units hardly make-or-break a Fantasy Football season, but the 2020 Baltimore Ravens D/ST unit could take your team over the top.

Fantasy Football season is here, with drafts taking place pretty regularly over the next few weeks. Things are a bit different than years past thanks to player opt-outs and no preseason football, but that just means fewer injuries to worry about. If you’re like me and a die-hard Baltimore Ravens fan, you’re likely planning on drafting a few Ravens players for 2020.

There’s a lot of great options this year, starting with the reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson. Jackson was second in points last season (standard scoring) with a whopping 28.1 PPG. Jackson isn’t the only offensive weapon who will be selected high in Fantasy Football drafts. Joining him will be Mark Andrews, Marquise Brown, Mark Ingram, and J.K. Dobbins. For leagues that employ a kicker, Justin Tucker will be for the umpteenth year in a row the top option there. Baltimore’s offense is absolutely loaded for 2020.

Defensively, it turns out that the Ravens will again host a terrific unit and an even better option for Fantasy Football.

For starters, Baltimore returns nearly all its starters from a year ago with some key additions to the pass rush in Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe. The secondary returns three Pro Bowlers from a year ago, making it a fearsome unit to throw against. The middle of the defense got a huge upgrade, as well, in the form of first-round draft choice Patrick Queen. Queen is a fast and rangy linebacker who will captain the defense and make plays all throughout the field.

There are few holes with this defense, and it has us thinking it may be the best available for Fantasy Football purposes.

The Ravens D/ST finished fourth in Fantasy Football a year ago with few losses to account for and upgrades aplenty. The defense surrendered an average of just 17.6 PPG last year (third-best across the league) and now face the easiest strength of schedule for 2020 with opponent’s combined win percentage at .438. Baltimore only faces seven teams that were in the top half of the league in PPG last season. This bodes incredibly well for the Ravens chances to once again be a stout unit that gives up few points.

I mentioned this earlier, but Baltimore’s pass rush got a lot better this offseason. After only registering 37 team sacks in 2019, the team brought back Matt Judon, who led the team in sacks with 9.5, and Pernell McPhee in addition to their young core of Tyus Bowser and Jaylon Ferguson. The aforementioned Campbell and Wolfe also come to Charm City after notching 6.5 and seven sacks last year respectively. The sack numbers will certainly increase for Baltimore.

Baltimore only picked off 13 passes in 2019, but the team did record 25 total turnovers forced. With an improved pass rush, those pick numbers will undoubtedly go up. Perhaps the Ravens could rack up some more strip-sacks, as well. With guys like Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey on this defense, the opportunity to turn turnovers into touchdowns is alive, as well.

The only question is whether or not Baltimore will have any form of threat on special teams with no established player playing return man. Rookie James Proche seems to be the guy for the job, but it remains to be seen what he can do at the next level.

All in all, things are set up perfectly for an already great D/ST to be elite for Fantasy Football purposes.

If you’re looking for a top-end D/ST unit to plug in and leave on cruise control for Fantasy Football in 2020, then the Baltimore Ravens D/ST is the one for you. This unit will generate sacks, turnovers, and has the opportunity to score a few touchdowns, as well. It is a slam dunk and the runaway best defense for the 2020 season.