AFC West Defenses and Defensive Coordinators

I get it. Talking defenses isn’t as sexy as talking about what quarterback, running back, or wide receiver will take you to the fantasy finish line. But guess what it can be, as sexy, that is.

To know your defenses is to know the weaknesses you will exploit. And as we know, so many defenses are there for exploiting.

The AFC West is the home of the reigning Super Bowl Champions. It is also home to the Las Vegas Raiders, who were very generous to opposing offenses last season. And yes, it is a new season, but there is always hope.

Statistically Speaking

Team	Rush Yards Allowed/G	Pass Yards Allowed/G	Yards Allowed/G	Points Allowed/G	Sacks
Denver Broncos	109.8 #10^th	210.2 #12^th	320.0 #8^th	21.1 #12^th	36 #24^th
Kansas City Chiefs	107.7 #8^th	225.1 #20^th	332.7 #14^TH	22.2 #18^th	55 #2^nd
LA Chargers	144.2 #27^th	204.4 #7^th	348.6 #20^th	23.1 #23^rd	40 #15^th
Las Vegas Raiders	122.8 #19^th	242.9 #29^th	365.6 #27^th	24.6 #26^th	27 #30^th

Kansas City Chiefs, Defense, and Defensive Coordinator-Steve Spagnuolo

The West currently begins and ends in Kansas City, not only because of their Super Bowl Championship hardware but because Steve Spagnuolo is the longest-tenured defensive coordinator in the division. Spagnuolo has been the defensive coordinator in Kansas City since 2019.

In his tenure in Kansas City, his defenses have ranked: seventh⁽²⁰¹⁹⁾, 11^{th (2020)}, eighth^(2021), and 15^{th (2022)} in points allowed, respectively. In yards allowed they have ranked 17^th(2019), 16^th(2020), 27^th(2021), and 15^th(2022).

In the 2022 season, the Kansas City defense allowed the most passing touchdowns (33), was 28^th in opponents’ red zone scoring percentage (65.15%), and 22^nd in opponents’ third down conversions per game (5.5).

It is safe to say that Kansas City’s defense employs a bend, don’t break philosophy. Spagnuolo’s defensive signature is finding the opponents’ weakness along the offensive lines and then employing designed blitzes. The defense is designed to disrupt the passing game. It is a defense that produces sacks, fumbles, deflects passes, and goes for interceptions. Despite the blitz-happy approach, Kansas City blitzed on only 24.6% of opposing quarterbacks’ dropbacks. That was the lowest rate for Spagnuolo’s defense since 2019.

In the 2022 season, Kansas City blitzed with six or more pass rushers 6.6% of the time. They had a 31.4% blitz rate and finished ninth in the league in pressure rate (41.2%). Kansas City sent four pass rushers 70.8% of the time and still led the NFL with 299 pressures.

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Spagnuolo’s defense is the defense that ushered defensive tackle Chris Jones to have a single-season high in sacks (15.5) and the fifth most pressures in the season (40). The defense went the way of Jones. Jones had one sack in the three losses during the season and averaged 2.67 pressures. But in their 14 wins, Jones collected 14.5 sacks and averaged 4.93 pressures.

Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed had a career-best in tackles (104) and passes defended (11) and collected 20 pressures, 3.5 sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.

Free Agency

Kansas City lost a few pivotal players on the defense during free agency. Defensive ends Carlos Dunlap and Frank Clark are still free agents. Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders is now in New Orleans, and safety Juan Thornhill is now with the Cleveland Browns.

https://twitter.com/Juan_Thornhill/status/1636846485491859458?t=-wkJNO6gRaIVMqfw0CI0GA&s=03

They have signed a few defensive players for depth, defensive line Charles Omenihu and defensive tackle Byron Cowart, while resigning defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi. In the secondary safety, Mike Edwards was signed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The most impactful defensive signing is linebacker Drue Tranquill formerly of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Kansas City has 10 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Round 1, Pick 31
Round 2, Pick 63
Round 3, Pick 95
Round 4, Pick 122 (from Miami)
Round 4, Pick 134
Round 5, Pick 166
Round 6, Pick 178 (from Chicago by way of Miami)
Round 6, Pick 217 (compensatory)
Round 7, Pick 249
Round 7, Pick 250 (compensatory)

Fantasy Relevance

Last season Tranquill finished as LB6 and the seventh-best IDP player. He had 146 tackles, one fumble recovery, four passes defended, and five sacks.

Las Vegas Raiders, Defense and Defensive Coordinator-Patrick Graham

The 2023 season will be Graham’s second year as the defensive coordinator in Las Vegas. His first season was not so good. The 2022 Raiders’ defense ranked:

Last in interceptions (six)
27^th in yards per play allowed (5.8)
26^th in first downs allowed per game (21.2)
31^st in opponents’ red zone scoring percentage (66.04%)
And had a sack rate of only 4.6%

Before coming to the Raiders, Graham was previously the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. The defensive scheme remained consistent. Here it is as broken down by Devin Shepard: “Graham prefers zone coverage over man. [He] runs a mixture of Cover-3 and Cover-6, which allows his defensive players to drop back and read the offense. He prefers to run zone on early downs and play more man coverage on third or fourth downs. Graham also tends to blitz more on third or fourth downs to get pressure on the opposing quarterback.”

Graham’s schemes depend on a specific type of player (which the Raiders did not have last year). His defensive linemen, who will play on the interior of the front, should be big and run-stuffing players. His linebackers are big and physical but also versatile. The linebackers should be able to fill run gaps, rush the passer and hold their own in coverage. And his cornerbacks are players that can handle deep third zones.

It is safe to say that defensive end Maxx Crosby was the best defensive player for the Raiders. Crosby finished the season with 12.5 sacks (up from eight last year), 89 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles.

New addition defensive back Duron Harmon finished second in tackles on the team with 86. He was tied for first on the team in interceptions with two and two forced fumbles. While his five passes defended landed him as the third-best on the team, he was the only defensive player with a defensive touchdown.

Defensive coordinator Graham was named head coach at this year’s Senior Bowl

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early scouting for the 2023 Draft? With 12 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Raiders should have enough draft capital to infuse the lineup with players that fit Graham’s defensive scheme.

Free Agency

The Raiders lost defensive end Clelin Ferrell and defensive tackle Andrew Billings. They acquired the defensive services of cornerbacks Brandon Facyson, Duke Shelley, and David Long Jr., safeties Marcus Epps and Jaquan Johnson, defensive end Jordan Willis, defensive tackle John Jenkins, and linebacker Robert Spillane.

The Raiders have 12 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Round 1, Pick 7
Round 2, Pick 38
Round 3, Pick 70
Round 3, Pick 100 (from New York Giants)
Round 4, Pick 109
Round 5, Pick 141
Round 5, Pick 144 (from Atlanta Falcons)
Round 5, Pick 174 (compensatory)
Round 6, Pick 204 (from Dallas)
Round 6, Pick 214 (compensatory)
Round 7, Pick 220 (from Arizona)
Round 7, Pick 231 (from New England Patriots)

Fantasy Relevance

Linebacker Spillane excels in the run defense but not in passing situations. In this division, that will limit his time on the field. Last season Epps collected 94 tackles, six passes defended, and a forced fumble. He averaged 8.4 fantasy points a game.

Los Angeles Chargers, Defense and Defensive Coordinator-Derrick Ansley

Ansley spent the last two seasons in Los Angeles as the secondary coach. The 2023 season will be his first season as the defensive coordinator for the Chargers. However, head coach Brandon Staley will still be calling defensive plays.

https://twitter.com/DerwinJames/status/1630290100104863747?t=pCr-QtNHP6GU9LklFxN6yg&s=03

Regardless of how you view Staley and his head coaching decisions during game time, his defensive play calling last season was pretty good. From Weeks 9-18, the Chargers ranked 10^th in points allowed per drive (1.79) and fourth in expected points added (EPA) per opponents dropback. His defense was pretty good early in the season, also.

Per Tru Media, in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chargers played man coverage at the second-highest rate (43.6%) of any Chiefs opponent. The Chargers then held the Chiefs to the season’s third-lowest average points per drive (1.82). They also held quarterback Patrick Mahomes to his second-lowest average yards per attempt of the season (6.71). And while the Chiefs averaged 48.7% conversion on third downs for the season, the Chargers held them to a 33.3% third down conversion percentage.

In Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, they held Christian McCaffrey to two points lower than his 4.7 yards per carry(2.7 yards per carry). And the Chargers’ defense held the 49ers to 10 points for three quarters.

In Week 14 against what was then a Miami offense that was second in offensive success rate, the Chargers used variations of Cover-2, Cover-6, and two-man on 12 of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s dropbacks. In those situations, Tagovailoa was sacked twice and finished 2-of-10 for 21 yards and only one first down. The Chargers ultimately held the Dolphins to their lowest success rate of the season, including games they played without Tagovailoa.

Free Agency

The Chargers lost the services of linebacker Drue Tranquill and defensive end Morgan Fox. They acquired the services of linebacker Eric Kendricks.

The Chargers have seven draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Round 1, Pick 21
Round 2, Pick 54
Round 3, Pick 85
Round 4, Pick 125
Round 5, Pick 156
Round 6, Pick 200
Round 7, Pick 239

Fantasy Relevance

Kendricks finished last season as LB15, six spots down from Tranquill. Kendricks averaged 12.5 fantasy points per game.

Denver Broncos, Defense and Defensive Coordinator-Vance Joseph

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If you are in Denver and the name sounds familiar, it is. In 2017 Joseph signed a four-year deal to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos. His Broncos teams went 11-21, and Joseph was fired into his second season.

During his head coaching tenure in Denver, Joseph’s defenses were characterized by their aggressive pass rush and a lockdown secondary. His basic principles on defense remain the same, speed and aggression, and they rely heavily on blitzing and man-to-man coverage. Per Pro Football Reference last season, the Cardinals were third in the total number of blitzes they used (225). And they were second in blitz percentage, 34.5%.

Last season Joseph was the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals’ defense finished 21^st in total defense (348.9 yards per game), 14^th versus the run (118.6), and 24^th versus the pass (230.3 yards per game).

Free Agency

The Broncos lost defensive ends Dre’Mont Jones and DeShawn Williams in free agency. They acquired cornerback Tremon Smith, defensive end Zach Allen, and resigned linebacker Alex Singleton.

The Broncos currently have five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. They have no picks until round three.

Round 3, Pick 67 (from Indianapolis)
Round 3, Pick 68
Round 4, Pick 108
Round 5, Pick 139
Round 6, Pick 195 (from Pittsburgh)

Fantasy Relevance

There is a reason for optimism that Allen is better this season. Allen averaged 8.3 fantasy points per game last season. He finished as DL40.