Fantasy football 2023: Defense/special teams rankings and tiers

Welcome to the 2023 NFL fantasy football season. I'm taking our traditional fantasy rankings one step further and arranging them into tiers to help prepare you to dominate your drafts. Tiers give you a better idea of player values and will allow you to construct a more well-rounded roster.

This format also gives me cover for when, say, you get heated about Justin Fields being ranked ahead of Jalen Hurts. I can be all, "Hey, they are in the same tier." Seriously, the value is similar. I'll die on this hill. But enough about that. Let's continue with defense/special teams!

I know kickers and defenses are the two most maligned positions in fantasy football. A lot of you will stream both, or worse, try to regulate them out of fantasy altogether. But here are some tiers for those of you who see the value in these positions and want to take advantage of it this year.

The 49ers will be replacing DeMeco Ryans (now the Texans head coach) with new DC Steve Wilks, and they are still expected to be one of the top fantasy producers in the category. It would be nice for them to get reigning Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa back in camp, though. ... The Eagles also lost their defensive coordinator, with Sean Desai replacing Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals HC). There is something to be said about the Super Bowl hangover for the losing team, but GM Howie Roseman has constructed quite the roster, with Jalen Carter -- a player some considered to be the top talent in the 2023 NFL Draft -- joining the group. ... Some people continue to sleep on the Jets in all aspects, but I really do believe it's a mistake. ... The Broncos could also surprise a lot of people, but they are very good on defense. Their Week 1 matchup is against the Raiders with