ESPN » Free Fantasy Football

Complete 2013 Projections

The default order for player projections is based on ESPN.com's recommended draft rankings, which take into account projected total points as well as upside and risk.

Position: ALL | QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | K | FLEX
Last Name: Team:

View Sortable Projections

«PREVIOUS | NEXT»

PROJECTED 2013 SEASON STATS

16. Giants D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		33	21	14	3	344	6134		105
	2013 Projections		30	20	11	2	359	5340		104
2013 Outlook: The Giants supposedly have one of the best pass rushes in the game. But is it? The G-Men had only 33 sacks last season, and only 10.5 of those came from Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck. Furthermore, the Giants gave up a ton of yardage, ranking 31st in the league. Corey Webster's coverage has regressed significantly and the team lacks a strong linebacker crew. However, if free safety Stevie Brown can repeat his breakout season that included eight picks, if new acquisitions Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson can spark the pass rush, and if Prince Amukamura can stay healthy, perhaps this unit rebounds.

17. Falcons D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		29	20	11	2	299	5849		98
	2013 Projections		26	20	11	2	371	5455		100
2013 Outlook: The Falcons finished fifth in points allowed and third in turnovers generated last year but 24th in yards allowed, and we're not overly crazy about bend-but-don't-break defenses. Eventually it seems like they always break. Atlanta's linebackers (Sean Weatherspoon, Akeem Dent and Stephen Nicholas) really struggled versus the run, but more importantly the Falcons couldn't find a pass rusher not named John Abraham. With Abraham gone and Osi Umenyiora in town, this problem may not be solved. They're terrific on the back end, but we need to see progress from the front seven before we can recommend this group as a fantasy starter.

18. Browns D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		38	17	12	3	368	5821		96
	2013 Projections		39	14	11	2	341	5675		85
2013 Outlook: To us, Cleveland's personnel has been screaming "3-4!" for a couple years, and new coordinator Ray Horton is finally obliging. Phil Taylor is a prototypical nosetackle, Ahtyba Rubin should be a beast run-stopping left end, and Paul Kruger will get a chance to be the team's featured pass rusher opposite rookie Barkevious Mingo. This has the makings of an exciting front seven. T.J. Ward and Joe Haden are great on the back end, though there's no corner depth and free safety is a void. This D/ST could make a leap, but it's got a lot of moving parts.

19. Vikings D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		44	10	12	5	348	5600		123
	2013 Projections		38	10	12	3	378	5535		102
2013 Outlook: When your roster includes a linebacker that delivers 150-ish tackles (Chad Greenway) and a defensive end that grabs 12-plus sacks (Jared Allen), it's a pretty good start. And we like this front sevenincluding Erin Henderson, Kevin Williams and Brian Robisonthough the Vikes do have a glaring need at middle linebacker. But Minnesota's secondary looks brutal. Chris Cook, rookie Xavier Rhodes and the disappointing Josh Robinson are the corners, and Jamarca Sanford is so-so at strong safety. Only Harrison Smith is a playmaker and last year's numbers bore that out, as the team struggled to stop the pass. Expect that to continue in '13.

20. Panthers D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		39	11	12	3	363	5329		97
	2013 Projections		40	12	11	2	356	5605		84
2013 Outlook: The Panthers have the beginnings of a strong defensive core. Charles Johnson had 12.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles last year, Greg Hardy broke out with 11 sacks and was terrific against the run, and Luke Kuechly led the league in tackles as a rookie. But the supporting cast is full of questions. Chris Gamble retired leaving behind a rogue's gallery of mediocre corners. The safeties, Charles Godfrey and Haruki Nakamura, aren't any better. We're hopeful that rookie DT Star Lotuleilei can be a difference-making run stuffer in the middle, but this defense must prove it before you should consider them.

21. Jets D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		30	11	12	5	375	5172		117
	2013 Projections		31	13	11	3	397	5295		99
2013 Outlook: Losing Darrelle Revis last year was a big blow, but Antonio Cromartie stepped up and the pass defense turned out not to be the problem. It was the run D. Specifically, it was the departed Sione Pouha and formerly great inside linebackers Bart Scott and David Harris. Shockingly for a unit that just two years ago was among the NFL's elite run-stopping units, the Jets were 27th stuffing opposing RBs last season. Revis has been replaced by rookie Dee Milliner, and New York did draft Sheldon Richardson in April, though he'd be miscast as a nosetackle. We're skeptical this ground D is fixed.

22. Cardinals D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		38	22	11	4	357	5405		131
	2013 Projections		34	22	9	5	474	5720		94
2013 Outlook: Arizona's 22 interceptions were bested only by Chicago last season, but Patrick Peterson is the last man standing in this secondary. Greg Toler, Kerry Rhodes and Adrian Wilson are gone, while rookie Tyrann Mathieu, Jerraud Powers, Antoine Cason, Yeremiah Bell and Rashad Johnson step in. Calais Campbell and Dan Williams are stout up front (Darnell Dockett fell off a cliff in '12) but Daryl Washington is suspended for at least the first four games of '13. It's nice owning a piece of Peterson's and Mathieu's special-teams playmaking greatness. But for all the talent the Cardinals have in some spots, they're untested in others.

23. Redskins D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		32	21	9	4	388	6043		92
	2013 Projections		34	17	9	3	408	5675		88
2013 Outlook: The Redskins are in salary cap hell, so they couldn't spend freely this winter. Their linebacker corps is loaded: Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan are excellent building blocks and London Fletcher just keeps on cruising at age 38. But the cracks show elsewhere on this defense. We like Stephen Bowen as a run-stopping defensive end but the Skins get no real push from their front three, their safeties aren't good, and DeAngelo Hall might be the least-justified high-name-recognition player in the NFL. The fact that Washington won the NFC East while finishing 28th in yards allowed is mostly a testament to Robert Griffin III.

24. Chiefs D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		27	7	6	1	425	5704		42
	2013 Projections		26	10	6	3	351	5410		76
2013 Outlook: The Chiefs signed Sean Smith and Dunta Robinson to complement Brandon Flowers, giving them three expensive corners. Yeah, because that worked so well for Andy Reid in Philly. Hubris aside, it's tough to argue Reid hasn't improved KC's defensive personnel, adding Mike DeVito as well. But Tyson Jackson just can't play, Dontari Poe's rookie year was bad, and Tamba Hali became a one-trick pony even as Justin Houston was emerging. If Eric Berry comes all the way back from his torn ACL, maybe the Chiefs catch fire. For now, though, the most you should do is add these guys to your watch list.

25. Eagles D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		30	8	5	1	444	5491		49
	2013 Projections		29	12	7	2	438	5135		81
2013 Outlook: And boom goes the dynamite. After a miserable '12, the Eagles blew it all up. Both of last year's starting corners are gone, as is defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins. Newly acquired Connor Barwin and Isaac Sopoaga are pure 3-4 players, which tells you a major philosophy change is coming under Chip Kelly. Where exactly someone like traditional 4-3 defensive end Trent Cole fits into this new scheme is a good question, to say nothing of the fact that the secondary now consists of Bradley Fletcher, Cary Williams, Kenny Phillips and Patrick Chung. There are way too many moving parts here.

26. Lions D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		34	11	6	0	437	5458		57
	2013 Projections		32	12	9	3	457	5425		78
2013 Outlook: Let's start with what works. Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley are the best complementary defensive tackles in the NFL. Chris Houston probably shouldn't be anyone's No. 1 corner, but he's a legit starter. And Glover Quin should be an improvement at strong safety. But otherwise, what a mess. The linebackers were supposed to be a strength, and they aren't. Louis Delmas can't stay healthy. And while we're not the biggest Cliff Avril fans in the world, the Lions will miss him unless Jason Jones and rookie Ziggy Ansah develop chemistry quickly. There's a reason this D/ST finished 27th in fantasy points last year.

27. Bills D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		36	12	9	4	435	5806		82
	2013 Projections		37	14	9	3	465	5795		71
2013 Outlook: This defense is worse than the sum of its parts. Mario Williams started slowly after signing his mega-deal but played very well after midseason wrist surgery, and defensive tackles Kyle Wright and Marcel Dareus are good players, yet the Bills allowed 145.8 rush yards per game. Jarius Byrd is a ball-hawk at free safety yet as a team Buffalo only had 12 picks. In theory, losing good tacklers like Nick Barnett and George Wilson should hurt, but the formula wasn't working with them. There's strong talent here, but they have too much to prove to be draftable in fantasy.

28. Titans D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		39	19	5	9	471	6000		110
	2013 Projections		36	16	7	3	435	5840		84
2013 Outlook: The Titans finished as a middle-of-the-pack fantasy defense in '12, but scratch the surface and you find problems. Take away three games in which Tennessee scored eight D/ST touchdowns, and we'd be talking about the No. 31 fantasy defense. Behind Derrick Morgan and Kam Wimbley, the pass rush was pretty good. But the run defense very much wasn't. Adding Sammie Lee Hill and Bernard Pollard may help that, but we still view this linebacker corps as a major liability when it comes to run stoppage. Beware when a team's unsustainable skein of defensive TDs stops, because things can turn ugly.

29. Colts D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		32	12	3	6	387	5988		76
	2013 Projections		29	11	6	4	405	5670		73
2013 Outlook: It's a shame that Andrew Luck doesn't play on both sides of the ball, right? While the Indy offense was making massive strides in '12, the pass defense was bad and the run defense was even worse. This offseason had the feeling of the Colts throwing a lot of things against the wall to see what sticks. Ricky-Jean Francois as a starting defensive end? Erik Walden as a pass-rushing outside linebacker? Greg Toler as a starting corner? Give GM Ryan Grigson credit for unearthing a guy like Jerrell Freeman from the CFL. But we still don't like the sum total of this unit.

30. Saints D/ST D/ST	YEAR		SCK	INT	FR	TD	PA	YA		PTS
	2012 Statistics		30	15	11	5	454	7042		51
	2013 Projections		25	14	9	3	422	6000		73
2013 Outlook: The '12 Saints allowed 440.1 yards per game, the most in NFL history. Curse-meister Rob Ryan is now the coordinator and New Orleans will go 3-4, but do they have the outside linebackers? Victor Butler may have been a savvy acquisition, but we're not believers in Will Smith anymore, and Junior Galette and Martez Wilson are unproven. We're glad the team drafted Kenny Vaccaro to play free safety and signed Keenan Lewis at corner, but we fear we'll still see plenty of Malcolm Jenkins, Roman Harper and Patrick Robinson. Things can't be as bad as in '12, but we don't see major improvement.

«PREVIOUS | NEXT»