Not a bad way to get the season started. Our top suggestion in the Carolina Panthers put up DST6 numbers, using a staggering six sacks and an interception to post a fantastic fantasy line. Heck, our middle suggestion in the Minnesota Vikings’ didn’t have that bad of a week as well, coming middle-of-the-pact with a DST15 finish with five fantasy points. The Vikings’ used five sacks on the day to get those five fantasy points. When it came to our under 10-percent owned suggestion, well, I’d like to not talk about it. So, let’s get onto Week 2!
If you’re anything like me, you don’t draft a defense, or wait until your very last pick. I always find it more important to use earlier selections on position players as you can find great value on the waiver wire each week for defenses. I will also keep a running total of my top, second and below 10-percent results and provide a ranking of where my results rank according to other defenses throughout the season.
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.
Week 1 Results
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Jets - 9 points
Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals - 5 points
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans - -3 points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - DST6
Middle Suggestion - DST15
Under 10% Owned - DST31
Week 2 Suggestions
Chicago Bears vs. Cincinnati Bengals - Owned in 22% of Yahoo and 10% of ESPN leagues
Although this isn’t the Bears’ defenses of the past that we’re used too, they're still led by the likes of Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson, among others. The Bengals opened the season with an overtime victory against the Vikings where they posted 27 points. The Bengals’ offensive line, which we talked about being the team’s weakness last week, allowed the Vikings to sack Joe Burrow five times. I’d put the Bears’ and Vikings’ front seven in a similar classification. I think the Bears’ defense gets after Burrow this week, especially in their home opener after a decent showing on Monday Night against the Rams.
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers - Owned in 33% of Yahoo and 30% of ESPN leagues
The Saints’ defense had a very impressive showing in Week 1 against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Now, I think something was very off with Rodgers and the Packers in that Week 1 game and I don’t think the Saints’ defense is as good as they showed with their two sacks, two interceptions and one fumble recovery game. I’m also a Panther truther and am fully behind Sam Darnold, especially after their big Week 1 victory. But, we can’t simply ignore what this defense did last week against the former MVP.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings - Owned in 9% of Yahoo and 5.9% of ESPN leagues
Am I overreacting to Week 1? Maybe. But this Cardinals’ defense, or should I say Chandler Jones, looked fantastic against the supposed high-flying Titans’ offense. With six sacks, five of which came from Jones, an interception and two fumble recoveries, this new look Cardinals’ defense was the DST1 last week. The Vikings started last week’s overtime loss to the Bengals slow. We’ll see if they do the same in their Week 2 matchup.
Comments