If the Kansas City Chiefs taught us anything last year, it’s that even in an offense-driven league, defense still wins championships in the NFL.
Granted, having Patrick Mahomes helps, but the Chiefs had their fair share of offensive struggles during the 2023 campaign while Kansas City’s defense was consistent throughout the season, allowing the second-fewest points per game (17.0) in the league.
However, some teams still haven’t gotten the memo and didn’t prioritize that side of the ball during free agency and the draft.
Here, we’ll rank the five worst defenses heading into the 2024 season, diving into last year’s performance and any notable offseason additions or losses.
The Denver Broncos are another team whose offensive struggles masked their issues on the other side of the ball.
Denver gave up 24.3 points per game in 2023, which ranked 27th in the NFL. The defense hit a low point in Week 3 when the unit allowed the Miami Dolphins to hang 70 on it, the most points in a single game since 1966.
In the offseason, safety Justin Simmons became a cap casualty after running air traffic control in the Mile High City over the last eight years. Simmons is just two seasons removed from leading the league with six interceptions, and he had a team-high three picks and ranked second with eight passes defended in 2023.
So, while the Broncos saved some cash, it came at the expense of sacrificing on-field production.
On a similar note, linebacker Josey Jewell left in free agency after being one of the team’s most consistent tacklers with 236 total tackles over the last two seasons. The front office replaced Jewell with Cody Barton, who struggled in Washington a year ago and will be playing for his third team in as many seasons.
It doesn’t help matters that second-year backer Drew Sanders tore an Achilles in the offseason as the team was likely hoping that Sanders would develop and help mitigate the loss of Jewell.
Granted, Denver does have a solid defensive line led by Zach Allen and newcomer John Franklin-Meyers to go along with an elite cornerback in Pat Surtain II.
However, the defense could use some help at the second corner spot as free-agent signing Levi Wallace gave up over 540 receiving yards and a 100.6 passer rating when targeted last season, per Pro Football Focus. That, plus the loss of Simmons, makes the outlook for the Broncos secondary bleak despite Surtain’s presence.
The Indianapolis Colts surrendered the fifth-most points per game (24.4) last year and didn’t do much to improve the unit during the offseason.
Indianapolis used most of its cap space in free agency to re-sign a few in-house players, including linebacker Zaire Franklin and nickel corner Kenny Moore II. While that is a couple of good moves to avoid creating more holes on the roster, the front office didn’t address the team’s needs in the secondary.
The Colts were rumored to be in the sweepstakes to trade for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, but the Chiefs sent Sneed to a different AFC South club, the Titans. That left Indianapolis with a need in the secondary; however, general manager Chris Ballard opted to use his first-round pick on edge-rusher Laiatu Latu.
While Latu might end up being a quality player in the long run, the team already had a good stable of pass-rushers with four players logging at least eight sacks last season, and all four are returning in 2023. So, the rookie’s impact might be minimal in year one or at least not game-changing enough to lift the defense from the bottom of the league.
That leaves JuJu Brents as the Colts’ presumptive No. 1 corner heading into the fall, which is putting a lot of faith into a guy with only nine games of experience. Also, the team has a big question mark on the other side, and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley hasn’t had a top-20 unit in points per game since 2019.
With most of the attention placed on quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers’ offensive struggles last season, the fact that their defense allowed the fourth-most points per game (24.5) was often overlooked. A big reason for that is cornerback Jaycee Horn only participated in six games.
Horn has been good when on the field during his three-year career; however, injuries have plagued the 2021 first-rounder since he entered the NFL, as he’s missed more games than he’s played in (29 to 22). So at this stage, the South Carolina product can’t be trusted to stay healthy enough to help Carolina’s defense turn things around in the fall.
Also, the Panthers opted to trade their best defensive player, Brian Burns, in the offseason. Burns is an excellent pass-rusher who led the team in sacks with eight last season and accumulated 46 sacks over the last five years.
While the front office replaced him with Jadeveon Clowney, who got to the quarterback 9.5 times in 2023, that was with a much better supporting cast in Baltimore. A similar statement could be made about D.J. Wonnum, who is coming off a strong season but won’t be on the other side of Danielle Hunter anymore.
Additionally, Carolina let linebacker Frankie Luvu go, and Luvu was a tackle machine over the last two campaigns with 236 total takedowns, including a team-leading 125 a year ago. He also ranked second on the club with 5.5 sacks, and the guy who was third in the category, Yetur Gross-Matos, is now in San Francisco.
That’s a lot of production to replace, and it doesn’t even include do-it-all safety Jeremy Chinn’s contributions, who signed with the Commanders in the offseason. So, it’s hard to see the Panthers getting much better defensively in 2024.
The New York Giants struggled as a whole last season, and a big part of their woes were due to a defense that gave up 23.9 points per game, which ranked 26th in the NFL. That led to the team moving on from defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale and hiring Shane Bowen.
While Bowen has a decent résumé after serving as the Titans defensive coordinator over the last three seasons, his units regressed year after year and finished 16th in points per game allowed in 2023. In other words, the coaching change isn’t a clear upgrade, seeing as Martindale had three top-three defenses during his time in Baltimore.
Personnel-wise, the Giants have a strong defensive line after trading for Brian Burns to go along with Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux. However, the team’s secondary has more questions than answers.
Last year’s first-round pick, Deonte Banks, struggled as a rookie by allowing a 57.6 completion percentage when targeted and posting a 48.6 coverage grade, according to Pro Football Focus. However, Banks projects as New York’s top cornerback heading into 2024.
Third-year pro Cor’Dale Flott projects to be the other starting outside corner, while rookie third-rounder Dru Phillips is expected to man the nickelback position. Also, the Giants lost safety Xavier McKinney in free agency, and another rookie, Tyler Nubin, will likely take McKinney’s place in the lineup.
That makes for a very young defensive backfield in the Big Apple, so some struggles should be expected this fall.
As the team’s 4-13 record would imply, the Arizona Cardinals had a lot of issues last season—and a defense that allowed the second-most points per game (26.8) was one of them. Based on the Cardinals’ moves this offseason, that likely won’t change much, if at all, this year.
In free agency, the team needed to add talent at defensive tackle and brought in Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones on three-year contracts totaling $21 million and $30.2 million, respectively. However, that may not have been money well spent.
Nichols is known as more of a pass-rusher but is coming off a two-year run with Las Vegas, where he totaled just three sacks. Meanwhile, Jones posted grades from Pro Football Focus in the 40s during his two seasons with the Bears.
Rookie Darius Robinson projects as the Cardinals’ best interior defensive lineman, and relying on a late-first-round pick to lead the unit as a rookie is a risky proposition. Also, the team lacks talent at edge-rusher and is hoping second-year pro BJ Ojulari takes a big step this season after Ojulari didn’t make a single start in 2023.
In the secondary, Arizona does have a good safety duo in Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson, but its cornerbacks are questionable.
Sean Murphy-Bunting was the front office’s biggest acquisition in free agency at corner, and Murphy-Bunting has been average at best throughout his career. Additionally, the team lost Antonio Hamilton, who was its best cornerback last season, so the addition comes out to a wash.
Second-round pick Max Melton is projected to start on the other side, while second-year pro Garrett Williams mans the nickel spot, so this position group will be very young for Arizona in 2024.