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 a necessary 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 defenses 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.
San Francisco 49ers DEF (52% owned) @ New Orleans Saints
While Arizona did not put up the fantasy numbers on defense that we hoped for against New Orleans, they did control the game. San Francisco has a much better defense and finished week one as the DST9. With limited information, the 49ers are a safe bet with a potentially high ceiling.
Chicago Bears DEF (11% owned) @ Detroit Lions DEF
I believed going into this season that Chicago was going to have one of the best defenses in football. They have an incredibly talented roster, and Dennis Allen is one of the best defensive coordinators in football. In week one, the Bears were the DST3 on the week against the Vikings, while missing their two best cornerbacks. This week, they will be facing a Lions team that gave up the 6th most fantasy points to the Packers. If I can’t get the 49ers, I will have the Bears everywhere.
New England Patriots DEF (14% owned) @ Miami Dolphins
My biggest rule when it comes to streaming fantasy defenses is to find teams that look terrible on offense and start whatever defense I can against them. While it is too early to get a clear indication of who will be the worst team in football this year, the Miami Dolphins made a powerful argument in week one. Nobody had pegged the Colts’ defense as one of the best in football, but they certainly looked like it against the Dolphins, scoring the second-most fantasy points of any defense. If the Dolphins are as bad in week two as they were in week one, New England is going to be an excellent streaming option.
