Once again, our under ten-percent owned option comes through on top. Again, it wasn’t the game-changing type of week we’d hoped for in the semi-finals of most fantasy leagues, but it could have been worse. We’re onto championship week, let’s hope for some homerun type of results!
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 Cleveland Browns held the New Orleans Saints to just 17 points but managed just one interception with no sacks or forced fumbles en route to three fantasy points. The Titans allowed 19 points to the Texans while recording an interception and one sack to record four fantasy points. The Jaguars had another impressive defensive outing en route to claiming the AFC South Division lead. They allowed just three points to the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football while recording three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Week 16 Results
Cleveland Browns vs. New Orleans Saints - 3 Points
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans - 4 Points
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets - 14 Points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 120 Points (DST7)
Middle Suggestion - 126 points (DST7)
Under 10-Percent Owned - 118 Points (DST7)
Week 17 Suggestions
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans - Owned in 18% of Yahoo and 15.5% of ESPN Leagues
The Jaguars are one of the hottest teams in the league. They’re playing inspired football as of late as they recently took control of the AFC South. Over their last three games, their defense has scored at least 12 fantasy points. Over their last three games, the Jaguars defense has recorded ten sacks, four interceptions, four fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown. They get another great matchup this week with the divisional rival Houston Texans. The Texans have allowed the fourth most fantasy points to opposing defenses. If you followed this series last week, you may already have them rostered as well.
New York Giants vs. Indianapolis Colts - Owned in 12% of Yahoo and 13% of ESPN Leagues
The Indianapolis Colts are a mess right now. They’ve once again benched Matt Ryan to try Nick Foles out, who was god awful last week on Monday Night Football. The Chargers recorded seven sacks and three interceptions in that Monday night game. Who knows what they’ll attempt to do with their quarterback situation this week against the Giants but no matter who it is, they won’t be having much success. The Giants’ defense has been playing decent as of late. Over their last four games they’ve totaled 16 sacks and three fumble recoveries. On top of all of this, the Colts have now allowed the most fantasy points to opposing defenses.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals - Owned in 3% of Yahoo and 5.5% of ESPN Leagues
The Arizona Cardinals are also a mess right now. Kyler Murray is out for the season with a torn ACL and backup quarterback Colt McCoy is in the concussion protocol. There is hope that McCoy will be back for this game with Atlanta which would be a major upgrade over what Trace McSorley showed last week against the Buccaneers. This Falcons’ defense has been sneaky good as of late, not allowing over 21 points in their last four games and not over 25 points in their last seven games. At this point, the Cardinals have allowed the eight most fantasy points to opposing defenses.