In addition to my full NEFF rankings (detailed explanation here), I have developed a pair of defense specific ratings and rankings, splitting out the passing and rushing defense metrics to break down the relative strengths of each team’s defense and how it can be useful for identifying edges in fantasy leagues and DFS.
Unlike DNEFF (Defensive NEFF rating), which generally produces a negative grade as it is the counterpoint to ONEFF (Offensive NEFF rating), the pass and run defense ratings are more of a measure of a team’s efficiency in relation to each other and so each team is ranked out of 100%.
Alongside the ratings, I document the amount of fantasy points each defense allows to receiving or rushing so we are able to compare ‘real’ football performance to fantasy scoring, as the two can sometimes be vastly different and its important to understand why to get the edge.
PDNEFF & RDNEFF Rankings 2020
| Team | DNEEF Rating | DNEFF Rank | PDNEFF Raiting | PDNEFF Rank | REC PPG Allowed | REC PPG Rank | RDNEFF Rating | RDNEFF Rank | Rush PPG Allowed | Rush PPG Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | -27.0% | 1 | 63.4% | 1 | -23.5 | 2 | 52.2% | 8 | -16.0 | 8 |
| Rams | -30.2% | 2 | 59.4% | 2 | -21.6 | 1 | 49.3% | 10 | -13.6 | 3 |
| Saints | -32.7% | 3 | 57.0% | 4 | -28.1 | 8 | 59.2% | 2 | -13.5 | 2 |
| Washington | -33.1% | 4 | 58.1% | 3 | -23.5 | 3 | 48.8% | 13 | -16.5 | 12 |
| Buccaneers | -33.4% | 5 | 50.8% | 12 | -31.6 | 19 | 62.2% | 1 | -11.8 | 1 |
| Dolphins | -34.6% | 6 | 51.6% | 9 | -29.4 | 13 | 45.6% | 19 | -18.0 | 18 |
| 49ers | -35.0% | 7 | 54.1% | 5 | -27.3 | 4 | 49.3% | 10 | -15.1 | 5 |
| Ravens | -36.2% | 8 | 52.9% | 7 | -27.7 | 6 | 53.1% | 7 | -15.4 | 6 |
| Cardinals | -37.0% | 9 | 52.9% | 7 | -29.0 | 11 | 47.5% | 16 | -17.4 | 16 |
| Colts | -37.2% | 10 | 49.9% | 13 | -29.6 | 14 | 56.3% | 4 | -15.0 | 4 |
| Bills | -38.4% | 11 | 53.0% | 6 | -28.4 | 9 | 44.8% | 21 | -19.8 | 24 |
| Giants | -39.1% | 12 | 48.1% | 17 | -29.2 | 12 | 50.5% | 9 | -16.4 | 11 |
| Seahawks | -39.5% | 13 | 50.9% | 11 | -33.0 | 22 | 56.7% | 3 | -16.3 | 10 |
| Packers | -42.0% | 14 | 49.1% | 15 | -27.8 | 7 | 42.1% | 25 | -17.3 | 15 |
| Eagles | -42.7% | 15 | 43.9% | 21 | -31.0 | 18 | 48.7% | 14 | -20.1 | 25 |
| Bears | -42.8% | 16 | 46.9% | 19 | -31.0 | 16 | 49.0% | 12 | -15.5 | 7 |
| Browns | -44.0% | 17 | 49.0% | 16 | -33.5 | 23 | 47.8% | 15 | -17.1 | 13 |
| Patriots | -44.8% | 18 | 45.4% | 20 | -27.3 | 5 | 40.5% | 29 | -19.5 | 22 |
| Chargers | -46.1% | 19 | 47.6% | 18 | -30.5 | 15 | 42.9% | 24 | -18.4 | 20 |
| Broncos | -46.5% | 20 | 51.1% | 10 | -28.5 | 10 | 41.2% | 28 | -21.3 | 27 |
| Chiefs | -47.7% | 21 | 49.8% | 14 | -31.0 | 17 | 44.1% | 23 | -17.5 | 17 |
| Jets | -48.0% | 22 | 40.1% | 28 | -37.8 | 29 | 54.9% | 5 | -17.2 | 14 |
| Panthers | -48.4% | 23 | 43.1% | 23 | -32.5 | 20 | 46.4% | 17 | -18.4 | 19 |
| Falcons | -49.8% | 24 | 39.0% | 29 | -39.7 | 31 | 53.8% | 6 | -16.1 | 9 |
| Cowboys | -49.8% | 25 | 43.9% | 21 | -32.8 | 21 | 39.3% | 30 | -23.4 | 29 |
| Bengals | -51.6% | 26 | 42.9% | 24 | -34.0 | 24 | 45.2% | 20 | -19.7 | 23 |
| Vikings | -52.9% | 27 | 40.7% | 27 | -34.2 | 25 | 41.8% | 27 | -20.6 | 26 |
| Raiders | -54.1% | 28 | 42.8% | 25 | -34.6 | 26 | 44.2% | 22 | -21.6 | 28 |
| Titans | -55.5% | 29 | 41.6% | 26 | -38.7 | 30 | 46.1% | 18 | -18.8 | 21 |
| Texans | -57.4% | 30 | 36.6% | 30 | -35.1 | 27 | 37.8% | 32 | -25.0 | 32 |
| Jaguars | -58.8% | 31 | 34.2% | 31 | -36.8 | 28 | 37.9% | 31 | -24.0 | 31 |
| Lions | -62.7% | 32 | 32.2% | 32 | -41.1 | 32 | 42.0% | 26 | -23.6 | 30 |