Week Four Defense Fantasy Football
If you read my article on playing the waiver wire game, you know that the waiver wire is an essential part of winning your fantasy football league. If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for? I just told you it’s an essential part of winning your fantasy football league! Why do you hate winning? Start now with this week four defense fantasy football guide.
One of the best ways to maximize your weekly scoring is to stream defenses. This strategy is simple – we aren’t as concerned about good defenses, so much as finding defenses that are playing terrible offenses. Bad offenses are more likely to keep playing bad because if they knew how to be good, they would already be good. Because of this flawless logic, I will be pointing out the best streaming options on a weekly basis.
Time for week four defense fantasy football advice!
Cleveland DEF (50% owned)
The Cleveland Browns are my favorite defensive stream play for week four. I know what you are thinking: But Waleed, they are the Browns. I know, how can I defend willing putting the Cleveland Browns defense in my starting lineup. Justifying this was easier than you think. Three weeks into the season, the Browns are the 5th best fantasy defense. Moreover, they got that rank despite playing the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints, arguably two of the best offensive units in football. This week, they don’t have to worry about an offensive juggernaut. Instead, they will be playing an Oakland Raiders team that has given up the 7th most points to fantasy defenses three weeks into the season. Stop thinking of Cleveland as a loser team, now the loser team is the Bills Cardinals.
Seattle DEF (46% owned)
The Seattle Seahawks are a close second when it comes to streaming options for week four and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they were your number one defense for the week. How could they not be? They are playing an Arizona Cardinals offense that has given up the most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Through three weeks of the season, two of the defenses that have played them finished top five for the week and the worst a defense has ranked is 10th. Arizona has the worst time of possession in the NFL, the least amount of offensive plays per game and the lowest points per game. In fact, I just changed my mind. The Seattle Seahawks are my favorite fantasy football defensive stream for week four. Arizona is just that bad.
Green Bay DEF (40% owned)
The simple truth is I am not sure how good the Green Bay Packers are on defense this year. They had a solid start to the season, but they looked terrible in week three. What I am sure of is that the Buffalo Bills are bad at football. Even with their week three blowout of the Minnesota Vikings, the Bills offense still gave up the 5th most points to opposing fantasy defenses. Yeah, there is a chance the Buffalo finally figured out how to not be bad, but if I’m being honest with myself, I will always bet on the Buffalo Bills being bad at football. That is why I am streaming the Green Bay Packers defense if given the opportunity.
Bonus: Detroit DEF (10% owned)
For as bad as the Detroit Lions defense has looked in the regular season, they have actually been pretty average as a fantasy defense. The Dallas Cowboys, however, have been incredibly bad on offense. The only team that is scoring fewer points per game than the Cowboys are the Cardinals. With the injuries on their offensive line, they look lost and their offense has given up the 9th most points to opposing fantasy defenses. My only concern with this matchup is that the Lions are really bad against the run and face one of the best running backs in the NFL in Ezekiel Elliott. The Detroit Lions are a decent week four defense fantasy football flier if none of the above options are available. I would start them, but I’m not sure I’d enjoy doing it.
