When ranking defenses in most fantasy scoring systems, we tend to be particularly interested in teams that record a lot of sacks. Not only because of the fantasy points from sacks, but under the belief that teams that rack up a lot of sacks tend to also do well in another key defensive scoring component, takeaways. That's the theory anyway. But is it true?

To evaluate the theory, I took a look at the numbers from the last five years. Both year by year numbers, and overall. And though it's not as convincing as you might expect, I think it's fair to say that following sacks does tend to help you also find teams that generate more turnovers.

The first table below shows five-year totals, sorted by total sacks. First column shows sacks, second column takeaways, third column rank in takeaways. (Columns sorted by sacks, so we don't need a ranking column for that.)

TOTAL SACKS AND TAKEAWAYS, 2010-2014
TeamSackTakeTkRk
St. Louis22711919
NY Giants2081603
Green Bay2081426
Minnesota20710927
Philadelphia20513013
Buffalo20313410
Miami20310331
New England2011671
Carolina20113212
Baltimore20112417
Denver19811124
Arizona1951378
Detroit19412914
NY Jets19111222
San Francisco1901445
Houston18811919
Kansas City18811222
Seattle1871474
Pittsburgh18711124
Cincinnati1861359
Tennessee18211321
New Orleans17910331
Chicago1781622
San Diego17810628
Washington17512417
Indianapolis17410628
Dallas17312914
Oakland17110530
Cleveland17012716
Jacksonville15311026
Atlanta1471407
Tampa Bay14713410

Nine of the top 15 teams in terms of sacks over that five-year period also ranked in the top 15 in terms of takeaways (60 percent). Of the other 17 pass rushes, only six (35 percent) ranked in the top 15 in takeaways. In rough terms, if you can identify an above-average pass rush, you've got about a two out of three chance of also landing an above-average team in takeaways.

The year-by-year numbers are little more erratic. They're shown in the five tables below, again sorted by sacks (and showing takeaway rank in the final column). In the interests of brevity I cropped the tables after 15 teams, rather than showing all 32 in each of the five years.

In 2014, 12 teams had more than 40 sacks. Only half of them ranked in the top dozen in terms of takeaways. Four of the top 5 teams in terms of takeaways were below-average in terms of sacks (Houston, Dallas, San Francisco and Cleveland). Those teams generated healthy number of fumbles or interceptions despite being nothing special getting after the quarterback.

In 2013, eight of the top 10 teams in takeaways also finished in the top 10 in sacks. In 2012, similar story: nine of the top 15 pass rushes finished 14th or better in takeaways. But 2011 looks more like 2014: 14 teams had 40-plus sacks, but only six of them were above-average in takeaways. In 2010, six of 10 top pass rushes were 11th or better in takeaways.

Bottom line: with some year-to-year variance, it looks like about 60 percent odds that an above-average pass rush will yield a defense that's also above-average in takeaways. Enough to make you target those defenses in fantasy drafts, but not enough to break the bank for them.

SACKS AND TAKEAWAYS, 2010-2014
2014 Team'14 Sk'14 TkTkRk
Buffalo54303
Philadelphia49286
Baltimore492222
NY Giants472610
Kansas City461430
Jacksonville452024
NY Jets451332
Detroit42278
Indianapolis412610
Denver412514
Green Bay41278
Minnesota411925
Carolina402610
St. Louis402514
New England402514
2013 Team'13 Sk'13 TkTkRk
Carolina60306
Buffalo57306
St. Louis532910
New Orleans491929
New England482910
Kansas City47362
Arizona47306
Seattle44391
Green Bay442221
Cincinnati43313
Indianapolis422715
Miami422419
Denver412616
Minnesota412027
NY Jets411531
2012 Team'12 Sk'12 TkTkRk
Denver522416
St. Louis522123
Cincinnati51308
Green Bay472318
Houston44299
Minnesota442222
Miami421628
Chicago41441
Tennessee392416
Carolina392318
Arizona38334
Cleveland38299
San Diego382811
San Francisco382514
New England37412
2011 Team'11 Sk'11TkTkRk
Philadelphia502416
Minnesota502320
NY Giants48315
Baltimore482613
Cincinnati452222
Houston442712
San Francisco42381
Dallas422416
Arizona421926
Detroit41343
Washington412123
Miami411926
Denver411828
New England40343
Oakland392613
2010 Team'10 Sk'10 TkTkRk
Pittsburgh48353
Green Bay47326
Oakland472422
San Diego472224
NY Giants46391
Detroit442911
St. Louis432617
NY Jets40308
Tennessee402519
Philadelphia39345
Kansas City392323
Miami391929
Seattle372224
New England36382
San Francisco362224

--Andy Richardson