It wasn’t an amazing week for the Streamable Defense of the Week but we did manage to have two of our suggestions go over ten points, so that's a win in my books. We’re onto the semi-finals for most leagues and that means the pressure is at an all time high. Let’s hit it out of the park in these last few weeks!
I’m one to never invest a high draft stock into team defenses. I play the waiver wire every single week to find my D/ST for the upcoming week. Due to this, I find myself never drafting a defense and waiting for just before the start of Week 1 to grab my first defense of the season. This is where this series comes into play. Every week I will be suggesting my favorite three team defenses that are regularly available on waiver wires across most formats. I will also keep a running total of how my selections measure up across the season below.
The premise of this article is to bring forth three streamable defenses that fantasy football players should look to use for that respective week. To qualify for this series, defenses must be owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. At least one of the suggested defenses will be owned in less than 10-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues to cater to every fantasy player. You can find last week’s results below and previous week’s results at the bottom of this article.
The Packers held Baker Mayfield and the struggling Rams to just 12 points while sacking Mayfield five times and intercepting him once en route to 12 fantasy points. The Broncos’ defense allowed just 15 points to the short handed Arizona Cardinals while recording three sacks and three interceptions. If you played the Broncos last week you can double up on them again this week as they play the Rams. I was convinced the Panthers were going to have a good week but they managed just one fantasy point. Onto Week 16!
Week 15 Results
Green Bay Packers vs. Los Angeles Rams - 11 Points
Denver Broncos vs. Arizona Cardinals - 10 Points
Carolina Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - 1 Point
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 117 Points (DST7)
Middle Suggestion - 122 points (DST5)
Under 10-Percent Owned - 104 Points (DST8)
Week 16 Suggestions
Cleveland Browns vs. New Orleans Saints (Owned in 27% of Yahoo & 24.5% of ESPN Leagues)
The Cleveland Browns’ defense has been on one as of late. They’ve scored 50 fantasy points over their last three weeks. Yes, that does include the 30 point outburst against the Houston Texans but they also scored 16 fantasy points against the Ravens last week. This week they welcome the New Orleans Saints who have allowed the seventh most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Over their last three games the Browns have seven takeaways and have allowed a total of 55 points over their last four games. That’s an average of just over 13 points-allowed-per-game.
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans (Owned in 49% of Yahoo and 27.2% of ESPN Leagues)
This is a pretty straight forward selection as the Texans have allowed the third most fantasy points to opposing defenses. This isn’t a special defense by any means and there aren’t a ton of bright spots. This is strictly a matchup specific suggestion. The Titans did allow just 17 points to Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers a week ago. We’ll see what Tennessee defense shows up this week as they continue to chip away at another AFC South crown.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets (Owned in 7% of Yahoo and 7.6% of ESPN Leagues)
It’s weird to say this, but the Jaguars are a fun team to watch. Trevor Lawrence is finally playing like who we all thought he would be and the young defense is making a name for themselves. Over their last three games, the Jaguars’ defense has recorded nine sacks, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. That’s an average of three sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery per game. That’s a good baseline for any defense, let alone one owned in less than 10-percent of leagues. The Jets have also allowed the tenth most fantasy points to opposing defenses.