As they always say, defense wins championships. That seems to be the route that John Fox and John Elway are taking to get the Broncos a Super Bowl victory with only a few years left before their championship door closes.
One of the biggest (and most surprising) acquisitions of this free agency was the Broncos building up their defensive line by signing Demarcus Ware just two days after he was released by the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s obvious that Ware’s presence improves the Broncos defense and fills in a glaring weakness that Denver had all season, but what does he bring from a fantasy perspective?
In terms of the Broncos as a standard fantasy defense, Ware isn’t the only reason why they should get a look as one of the top five fantasy defenses in drafts this year.
The Broncos also signed T.J. Ward at safety and Aqib Talib at corner, turning the Broncos from a middle-of-the-pack defense to an elite defense. The presence of these three players will definitely boost Denver’s defense from a fantasy perspective.
They finished just 14th in overall fantasy points last season, and heading into this year, it’s a pretty safe bet to say that they will pass teams such as the Buccaneers and Bills, who scored more fantasy points than Denver.
Ware has recorded double-digit sacks in all but two of his seasons in the NFL, and even if he’s not 100 percent healthy, the Broncos can still count on him for somewhere around seven or eight sacks. He has also recorded 32 forced fumbles for his career (he didn’t have a single forced fumble in 2013), along with seven recoveries. He doesn’t add much in the interception department, but even if Ware is 85 percent of what he was in his prime, it’s still going to add fantasy value to the defense.
Ware and linebacker Von Miller are now the NFL’s top pass-rushing tandem, so even if Ware isn’t picking up sacks, Miller will be. Miller only played in six games last year, but still recorded five sacks. Imagine what he can do with Ware in the lineup and if he plays a full year.
In 2012, Miller had 18.5 sacks in 16 games, the same year that Ware had 11.5. It’s scary to think about what kind of damage Denver can do on defense if both of these guys are healthy.
Denver finished tied for 13th in the NFL in total sacks (41) but with Ware and Miller healthy, expect that number to be up somewhere between 47 and 50 by season’s end. (For reference, the St. Louis Rams finished third in the league with 53.)
They can both burst off the edges with great speed, and they have the awareness to strip the quarterback of the ball if the opportunity presents itself, and nothing will boost a defense’s fantasy value than turnovers.
This isn’t even including the interception numbers that Ward and Talib can put up in the secondary.
However, from an individual defensive player perspective, Ware’s value might not be much higher than a No. 2 defensive end. He finished 41st among all defensive ends in total fantasy points, finishing with the lowest sack total of his career.
Owners will be tempted to take Ware as one of the top defensive ends in IDP leagues, but it’s important to remember that he is 31. Although the tandem of Ware and Miller will work well for the Broncos as a team, it won’t individually boost Ware’s stats to be back to the levels of his 2011 season when he recorded 19.5 sacks and 47 total tackles.
From an IDP perspective, defensive end is a very deep position, especially if your league only has one defensive end per team. In leagues where two ends are taken, Ware is certainly a viable options, but just looking at the names above him in IDP rankings, it’s tough to see Ware getting above the likes of Lamarr Houston or Ndamukong Suh.
The highest I see him getting in IDP rankings is 25, but that is his ceiling at his age.