If you read my article on playing the waiver wire game, you know that it 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?
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 reasons that are playing terrible offenses. Bad offenses are more likely to keep playing badly 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 weekly.
Jacksonville Jaguars Defense (34% owned) @ Houston Texans
I was honestly surprised to see that the Jacksonville Jaguars were only 34% rostered. The Jaguars’ defense has the second most turnovers in football and has given up the third-fewest points to opposing teams. Couple that with the fact that they are playing a Houston Texans team that is starting a rookie quarterback, has scored the third-fewest points in football, and has given up the most sacks in football. You have my favorite combination for a defensive streamer for the week.
Seattle Seahawks Defense (17% owned) @ Carolina Panthers
The Seattle Seahawks defense is not particularly good. Lucky for you, they don’t need to be good to be a great streaming option against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers have scored the second-fewest points two weeks into the season. They also have the fourth-most turnovers. Add to that the fact that their starting quarterback can’t see over his offensive line and I think this could be a very high-risk/high-reward play.
Tennessee Titans Defense (3% owned) @ Cleveland Browns
On paper, the Titans feel like a fairly safe play against the Cleveland Browns, but I think it might be the most risky. The Cleveland Browns have given up the second-most fantasy points to opposing defenses. They have the second-most turnovers of any offense and have given up the fifth-most sacks. On top of all those problems, they just lost their best offensive weapon for the season. The Titans have 7 sacks on the season and their defense feels built to match up well against the Browns. However, the Titans’ offense is bad enough and the Browns’ defense good enough that I can see a scenario where the game script turns against the Titans’ defense quickly. Even if you can’t get either of the above defenses, they are a strong play. Albeit, a riskier one.
