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.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers DEF (30% owned) @ New Orleans Saints
This week is a very tough slate for streaming defenses, and the Bucs are the best option available by a mile. The Saints have the third-most turnovers and are scoring the third-fewest points. The Bucs, on the other hand, have the 6th most turnovers on defense. The Bucs are the number five streaming option on my model and the only defense with an under 50% roster rate that has explosive potential.
Indianapolis Colts DEF (38% owned) @ Jacksonville Jaguars
At first glance, this might seem like a weird pick. Jacksonville has won four of its last five games. However, that record comes on the back of the Raiders, Titans, and Cardinals. The Colts are allowing the ninth-fewest points, have the fifth-most sacks, and rank eighth in turnovers. The Colts have the 7th-best rush defense in football, so the way Jacksonville is going to need to win this game is with the arm of Trevor Lawrence. The Colts are too good a team to drop three games in a row.
Buffalo Bills DEF (50% owned) @ Cincinnati Bengals
If you can’t get the Bucs or Colts, this is a last-ditch Hail Mary play. The Bills are just okay on defense, and the Bengals have an explosive offense. This is the only remaining favorable match-up on my model. The Bengals are one of the worst run defenses in football, so I suspect that Buffalo is going to control the game with their number one rushing attack in football. Once they get out to a lead, we will see the Bengals forcing things, and they have the sixth-most turnovers in football. I don’t expect an explosive performance from the Bills, but I think this is a decent floor play if you can’t get the other two defenses.
