We’re officially at the Bye-pocalypse! Week 7 has six different teams full of fantasy relevant players all on Bye. The Bengals, Cowboys, Jets, Panthers, Texans, and Titans are all off this week. No Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tony Pollard, Breece Hall, CJ Stroud, or Derrick Henry for your matchups this week. With that, getting a D/ST who can help your fantasy football team this week is important. With that, let’s look at last week’s picks before we get into this week’s picks.
- Las Vegas Raiders: 11 pts – HIT
- Minnesota Vikings: 22 pts – HIT
- Indianapolis Colts: 4 pts – Bust
- Week 6: 2 Hits – 1 Busts
- Season: 12 Hits – 8 Busts
In Week 6 we had the highest and fourth-highest scoring D/STs for fantasy football. To top it off, the logic for the Colts was there. If they had stopped the Jaguars from scoring one of those field goals or touchdowns, they would have also been a hit. We are finally hitting the time where it’s getting easier to pick these D/STs. With two good fantasy D/STs playing on Thursday and six teams on Bye, our picks will be more slim than ever this week so let’s get into them!
Fantasy Football Week 7 D/ST Streams
Washington Commanders – 61.8% Rostered
The Commanders have a divisional matchup with the Giants this week. The Commanders’ front seven should have a field day against the Giants’ offensive line! The Giants have allowed Daniel Jones to be sacked 28 times this season, and Tyrod Taylor was sacked four times in his last two games. That’s 33 total sacks allowed so far through six games. Abysmal doesn’t begin to do it justice for how bad that offensive line is playing. They are allowing an average of 5.5 sacks per game.
On the other side of the ball, the Commanders have recorded three or more sacks in five out of six outings. The only game they didn’t was the against Buffalo. In their game against Denver, they recorded seven sacks.
All this to say that the Commanders D/ST could make the HIT mark on sacks alone this week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 37.7% Rostered
The Buccaneers will host the Falcons this week in another divisional matchups. While I am not as confident in this pick as the others, the Bucs have a good fantasy football D/ST. They are averaging 8.8 fantasy points per game. Atlanta has been playing better recently, but that doesn’t mean the Bucs defense will be unable to perform.
The Bucs have averaged an interception and 2.5 sacks per game this season. That alone would account for 4 points in fantasy for their D/ST. Desmond Ridder has been underperforming the expectations of the summer in a way that is beneficial to opposing D/STs.
Las Vegas Raiders – 33.6% Rostered
The Raiders have a favorable matchup against the Bears in Week 7. They will face back up quarterback Tyson Bagent and third string running back D’Onta Foreman. While this is a game of backup quarterbacks (Jimmy Garoppolo is also out), it should lead to a great day for the Raiders D/ST.
The Raiders D/ST is also averaging an interception and 2.5 sacks per game, but they get to play a worse team than the Bucs will play. Defenses facing the Bears have scored 8 or more fantasy points in five out of six weeks, and double digit fantasy points in four out of six weeks. Any defense that plays against the Bears is usually very valuable in fantasy football.
Conclusion
Coming into this week, we are currently 60% accurate, with three potential matchups that could hit double digits this week. Most of it has to do with solid defenses playing lackluster passing offenses.
I’m hoping everyone has been enjoying the season so far! As always, may the streams flow your way!
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.