My favorite part of the work week is sitting down with my laptop, a cold drink, and the Thursday Night Football game on TV. This week, I was rooting against both defenses because I needed big offensive plays for my fantasy football teams.
Where I don’t need help is in my home league that still uses D/STs and Kickers. With that being said, last week’s article is part of why I lost my matchup. My opponent read the article and streamed the Cowboys’ D/ST against me. To show just how impactful that was into my loss, let’s look at my accountability from last week. This was much better the previous week, and may very well be the best week of the season in terms of my picks at D/STs to stream.
Accountability
- Cowboys: 12pts – SUCCESS
- Titans: 5pts – SUCCESS
- Colts: 6pts – SUCCESS
- Raiders: 4pts – BUST
- Honorable Mention Cardinals: 16pts – SUCCESS
- Giants: 8pts – SUCCESS
- Week 3: 5 Successes – 1 Bust
- Season: 8 Successes – 4 Busts
I’m going to keep recommending D/ST streamers based off ESPN’s fantasy football roster percentages. However, I am going to have to make some adjustments. ESPN currently has 14 of the 32 D/STs rostered at over 50.0% across all their leagues. With nearly half of D/STs rostered, I am now going to base my Streams of the Week off of a 65% roster value.
Number 5: Detroit Lions 3.1%
Head coach Dan Campbell said it himself this offseason: The Lions have been biting at their opponent’s kneecaps. I know it may seem crazy to recommend a D/ST for a team playing for the first overall draft pick in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft, but the Lions have played well on defense. Over three games, they have 1 interception, 3 fumble recoveries, and 8 sacks. This week they play the Bears, whose starting QB has been sacked 15 times over three games. Sacks are easy points for your D/ST.
Number 4: Chicago Bears 18.1%
The Bears Defense is nowhere near as good as it used to be, but they still get it done. The Bears D/ST has 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 11 sacks, and 1 defensive touchdown so far this season. They play the Lions in what I have decided to start referring to as my “All Defensive Matchup of the Week”. Week 2 was the Cowboys/Chargers game. Week 3 was the Colts/Titans game. This week is the Bears/Lions game. Crazy, but do you trust Jared Goff to get it done against a Chicago front line that includes Khalil Mack? I do not.
Number 3: Green Bay Packers 18.3%
The Packers play against a struggling, cannot-get-offense-moving, weighed-down-with-injuries, Steelers this week. The Packers D/ST looks much better than they did week 1. This pick will either hit with 8+ pts or will blow up in my face. I personally feel the Steelers won’t be able to get the offense going, and the Packers can take advantage of that.
Number 2: Miami Dolphins 28.4%
I am a Colts fan and have been since I started watching football over a decade ago. They look bad. They are missing two of their best offensive linemen, and are unable to keep Carson Wentz safe in the pocket – which is extremely needed given that he is playing on two ankle sprains. If Wentz does not play, the backups are much worse and will benefit this Miami defense.
Honorable Mention: Carolina Panthers (51.1%)
I think I have said all that needs to be said about this D/ST. If they are available, pick them up. The Cowboys give up sacks. We do not know if this defense is legit yet as they are young, and this is their hardest QB matchup yet this season. A lot of risk, but they have the highest ceiling.
Number 1: Tennessee Titans 55.9%
The Titans D/ST has not looked great in real life, but where they fall short on the field, they make up for in fantasy football! The Titans D/ST faces the Jets whose rookie quarterback has already thrown four interceptions in one game, and have thrown seven total. Not to mention that the Titans are averaging 2.33 sacks per game. A great matchup against a team in the process of rebuilding.
Good luck this week and may the streams flow in your favor!
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.