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 with good defenses as we are with finding defenses 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. Based on this flawless logic, I will highlight the best streaming options each week.
Los Angeles Rams DEF (41% owned) @ New Orleans Saints
Some weeks, the waiver wire article writes itself. The Rams are the DST4 on the season. Despite playing one fewer game than half the league, they rank eighth in turnovers, second in sacks, and third in points allowed. If that wasn’t enough, they get to play a rookie quarterback old enough to collect AARP checks in Tyler Shough. (Sounds like suck) The Saints on offense are averaging 1.5 turnovers per game, 2.5 sacks per game, and the 4th-fewest points per game. This is probably the DST1 across the board by most projections, so if the Rams are on your waiver wire, grab them.
Los Angeles Chargers DEF (42% owned) @ Tennessee Titans
While the Saints’ defense is not as good as the Rams’, their matchup is better. The Tennessee Titans’ offense has the most turnovers and sacks in football, and scores the fewest points per game. They are so bad that they fired Brian Callahan and promoted Mike McCoy to improve their team. Historically, that is a bad bet. Moving forward, the rule for the rest of the year is that if a defense is playing the Tennessee Titans, you start that defense regardless of the situation.
Jacksonville Jaguars DEF (12% owned) @ Las Vegas Raiders
For a consolation prize, the Jacksonville Jaguars are not back at all. The Jags have the second-most turnovers in football, despite playing only seven games. The Raiders, on the other hand, turn the ball over at the second-highest rate despite having played one less game. On top of that, the Raiders average almost three sacks a game and score the second-fewest points per game. The Raiders are bad, and I want to start any defense facing them.
