Chicago Bears fantasy football: Picking your defense

A snapshot of the (painful) 2013 Chicago Bears defensive rankings:

- Points allowed: 30th

- Yards allowed: 30th

- 1st downs allowed: 28th

- Rushing yds allowed: 32nd

- Passing yds allowed: 15th

That is what came to be known as the worst defense in Chicago Bears history.

Fast-forward one season, and is there any scenario where you can imagine taking the Bears defense in your fantasy league? Let's look at some key changes since last season ended:

Key Additions:

- DE Lamarr Houston

- DE Jared Allen

- DE Willie Young

- SS Ryan Mundy

- SS Adrian Wilson

- CB Kyle Fuller (1st round pick)

- DT Ego Ferguson (2nd round pick)

- DT Will Sutton (3rd round pick)

- FS Brock Vereen (4th round pick)

Key Departures:

- DE Julius Peppers

- DT Henry Melton

- DE Corey Wootton

- CB Zach Bowman

- S Major Wright

General Manager Phil Emery made quick work in rebuilding the Chicago Bears offense in his first two seasons in Chicago, and actually created an (almost) entirely new offensive line in one offseason.

When the defense fell apart last season, he obviously moved to re-sign a few key veterans, and then add new faces to the mix.  It's very possible that Chicago will field 7-8 new starters on defense in 2014.

With that said, has enough been done to be a fantasy-worthy defense this season? If Emery has the same type of success with that unit as he has had on offense, Chicago could be a top-10, if not top-5, defense... that's a big IF, but not entirely out of the realm of reasonable possibility.

In what scenario could the Bears defense get selected for someone's fantasy league?

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a $100,000 Fantasy Football Contest for Week 1's NFL games. It's only $10 to join and first prize is $10,000. Starts Sunday, September 7th at 1pm ET. Here's the link.