Ranking NFL's top 10 defenses for 2021: Hail to the Football Team, with Bucs and Browns not far behind

Three AFC North teams are in our top 10

We've spent a lot of time this offseason talking about offenses. But enough of that. Miami splashed the pot in free agency, handing $178.5 million worth of contracts to Byron Jones, Kyle Van Noy, Shaq Lawson, and Emmanuel Ogbah, plus signing Clayton Fejedelem, Elandon Roberts, Kamu Grugier-Hill, and Kevon Frazier, and drafting Noah Igbinoghene, Raekwon Davis, Brandon Jones, Curtis Weaver, and Jason Strowbridge. That is a lot of talent to add in one offseason.  Now, it's time to move to the other side of the ball. Because while offense has a greater effect on overall team performance -- and is more consistent year over year -- than defense, you still need to put up some resistance in order to actually win football games. Rather than go through every team from 32-1 on this side of the ball like we did on offense, however, we're going to reveal our top 10 defenses here, and then debut a list of teams from outside that group that have the best chance to crash the party as the best defense in football.  In particular, there is reason to feel good about Miami's secondary, with Jones and Igbinoghene joining Xavien Howard to form what should be one of the league's best cornerback units. Head coach Brian Flores came to Miami from New England and knows how to utilize a versatile defender like Van Noy, and is used to generating a pass rush without a single dominant edge rusher, and should be able to utilize Lawson and Ogbah in ways to accentuate their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Miami is not nearly the favorite in the AFC East, but if the sheer volume of talent added on defense can coalesce into a unit in or near the top 10, perhaps the Dolphins can surprise and challenge for the new No. 7 seed in the conference.  Without further ado ...