Streamable Defenses of the Week - Week 8 (2022)
It’s not often that both my middle and under 10-percent owned options top my top suggestion in any given week. It’s even less often that my under 10-percent owned option ends up being the top scoring option, but that’s what Week 7 gave us. My under-10 percent owned option is currently my best overall option on the season and has made its way into the top five of all DSTs. Not too bad.
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 New York Jets allowed just nine points to the Denver Broncos but also recorded just one sack and one interception. They still scored a respectable seven fantasy points. The Miami Dolphins controlled the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, allowing just ten points while recording two sacks and three interceptions en route to a dozen fantasy points. The Arizona Cardinals were our big winners of the week as they scored two defensive touchdowns on three interceptions. Let’s see if we can’t repeat last week’s success in Week 8.
Week 7 Results
New York Jets at Denver Broncos - 7 Points
Miami Dolphins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - 12 Points
Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints - 17 Points
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 57 Points (DST8)
Middle Suggestion - 35 points (DST27)
Under 10-Percent Owned - 64 Points (DST5)
Week 8 Suggestions
Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Commanders - Owned in 36% of Yahoo and 43.7% of ESPN Leagues
First off, I know I’m breaking the 40-percent owned rule but the four-percent under the 40-percent owned mark on Yahoo makes up for the difference in ESPN leagues, or at least I’ll tell myself that. The Colts are preparing for the return of star linebacker Shaquille Leonard who has now missed three consecutive games and is directing his attention to returning in the upcoming Week 8. The Commanders have allowed the fifth most fantasy points to opposing defenses. They have also scored just 17.9 points-per-game on the season and average just 17.3 over the last three games.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Denver Broncos - Owned in 27% of Yahoo and 40.6% of ESPN Leagues
The Denver Broncos have allowed the ninth most fantasy points to opposing defenses on the season. Even with Russell Wilson trending in the right direction to play in Week 8, this Broncos’ team is a mess. They are averaging just 14.3 points-per-game on the season and have averaged 11.3 points in their last three games, just 0.3 points more than the last place Pittsburgh Steelers over that same time. They are the league’s lowest scoring team on the season however. This Jaguars’ defense hasn’t been stellar this season but has not been bad by any measures. The Broncos’ can make any defense look stellar however.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers - Owned in 3% of Yahoo and 2% of ESPN Leagues
This one is pretty self explanatory. The Panthers have allowed the 11th most fantasy points to opposing defenses. They have also purged their team of what talent they had left. Christian McCaffrey went to San Francisco and Robbie Anderson went to Arizona. P.J. Walker is also slated to start for the Panthers again as well. The Panthers have averaged just 17.7 points-per-game on the season and just 15.3 points over their last three games.