5 Bold Takes at Defensive Back

The 2024 season is almost upon us, so it's time for bold takes.

RELATED: See Defensive Tackle Takes here >>>

We asked the Footballguys staff to give their ride-or-die takes for this season. Here's what they said.

A Bold Take from Tripp Brebner

More than half of 2023's top 25 scorers will be irrelevant in 2024.

Not bold enough? Read through the names. Fantasy gamers are drafting almost all of them as starters. History tells us that the leaderboard turns over at DB more than any other position.

Many sink not because of what they do but because of what happens to them—opposing offenses target them. These players will improve or, like Richie Grant, lose their jobs. Dax Hill lost his safety job but was fortunate to land the CB2 role in Cincinnati. That was a part-time role last year.

Several, like Kamren Curl, changed teams and won't enjoy the same deployment that optimized their tackle opportunities. We've seen Jordan Whitehead in Tampa before and should set expectations accordingly.

Three current Bears appear on last year's leaderboard. They're playing behind two productive linebackers. "Too many mouths to feed" is a thing in IDP. Snaps and tackle opportunities are finite.

Cornerbacks are to defense what placekickers are to offense in fantasy football. Safeties are like quarterbacks in a 1QB league. You think you need one early, but you don't. You can patch production together with a platoon. The variance in the match-up, reported in Footballguys' Fantasy Points Allowed tool, exceeds most personnel advantages. 

Wait on DB in your draft. Just wait.

A Bold Take from Gary Davenport

Eagles safety Reed Blankenship will finish inside the top five fantasy defensive backs.

Blankenship admittedly faded late last year. But so did the entire Eagles defense, and as it turns out, the third-year undrafted free agent was playing through a groin injury that required surgery after the season. Is Blankenship an elite talent? Nope. But that’s one of the things that makes him an attractive target later in IDP drafts. Blankenship led the Eagles in total tackles last year and was a top-10 defensive back for the season, but the late swoon and a lack of Q Score (No commercials for you, Reed) have led to him falling much farther in IDP drafts than he should. His status as a starter is safe—in fact, he was extended in the offseason. He’s playing for a traditionalist DC in Vic Fangio, who tends to cheat his box safety, you know, into the box. And the linebacker situation in Philadelphia is—less than ideal (Zack Baun? Really?). Blankenship is 2024’s poster guy for fading defensive backs early. Low Risk. High Reward.