​If you had to guess which NFL team had the most sacks in 2017, who would it be? The Jaguars? The Super Bowl champion Eagles? Maybe the stout defense of the Minnesota Vikings? 


If you suggested any of these teams, you'd be wrong. It was the Pittsburgh Steelers that led the NFL in sacks last season. The Jaguars finished one sack short of the Steelers' 56.0 sacks (though they came up on top when it counted, in the divisional round). 


This goes to show how unpredictable sacks can be as a team stat over the course of an entire year. The Steelers were a Top-10 defense last season, yet learning they also led the NFL in sacks may come as a surprise. They don't have any star pass rushers, but rely instead on a hefty core of players who had six or seven sacks a piece, spreading the total out more evenly.


In an effort to predict the unpredictable in 2018-19, here's what the oddsmakers have come up with:

The Jaguars are rightfully the favorites here and by far the safest pick you could make. Jacksonville's defensive line is truly terrifying. Calais Campbell had 14.5 sacks in 2017, which was good for second in the NFL, and Yannick Ngakoue was eighth with 12.0. They also still have Dante Fowler and Malik Jackson, who each recorded 8.0 sacks in 2017. Overall, Jacksonville combined for 55.0 sacks as a team. 

Moving down, the Rams are also a fantastic pick with a bit longer odds. Aaron Donald is best defensive player in the NFL at the moment, and they just signed Ndamukong Suh; there's a lot to like there at +730. 


As far as longer odds go, Tennessee and Pittsburgh were both in the top five in sacks last season, and have some value in a possible repeat performance. 


The Jaguars are primed to take the sacks title fairly easily, but as we learned last year, that doesn't mean they absolutely will. 

Get $20 with your first deposit on FanDuel. Join Now.

Ian McCafferty is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ian McCafferty also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username itmccaff. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.