Patriots Defense Ranks in Top-10 Overall Fantasy Football Producers Through Eight Games

When discussing who the fantasy football MVP is, absolutely nobody thought a defense would be in consideration at this point of the year. But that's how dominant the New England Patriots' defense has been in 2019.

There are only eight players, including quarterbacks, that have outscored New England's D/ST in PPR scoring formats through Week 8.

How Many Points Has the Patriots Defense Scored?

The Patriots D/ST has gotten fantasy owners 169.0 total points this season, good for an average of 21.1 points per game.

While quarterback is usually the highest-scoring position group in fantasy, only three QBs, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson, have outscored New England this season. This means starting the Pats' defense is essentially like having a second quarterback in the lineup, which is tough to beat.

In fact, the Patriots' defense has scored as many TDs (four) as they've allowed in 2019. That's almost certainly an unsustainable rate, but New England leads the NFL in interceptions (19) and sacks (31), two of the best ways for a defense to rack up fantasy points.

Logic tells us that New England's defense is a sell-high candidate, with six of the Patriots' next seven games being against teams currently sitting at or above .500. Still, it's tough to part ways with such a dominant fantasy producer.

New England is the No. 4 ranked defense in our Week 9 fantasy football rankings, as the Patriots draw a tough matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

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