Welcome back! It’s time for the third year of my D/ST Streamer article. As a reminder of how these articles will work, I’ll be picking three teams that are rostered in under 65% of ESPN leagues. Why ESPN? Because that’s where my home league plays and we still have D/STs. A HIT is any D/ST picked that scores 5 or more points (pts) on a week. A Miss is any D/ST pick that scores 4 or fewer points. Welcome to D/ST Streams Week 2.
I already wrote one of these articles this year that had my picks for late-round sleepers to pick during your draft. Let’s look at how these teams did in Week 1.
- New Orleans Saints: 12 pts – HIT
- Denver Broncos: 5 pts – HIT
- Washington Commanders: 12 pts – HIT
- Baltimore Ravens: 12 pts – HIT
- Carolina Panthers: 6 pts – HIT
- Week 14: 5 Hits – 0 Busts
- Season: 5 Hits – 0 Busts
A fantastic start to this season! I barely made it with the Panthers and Broncos who both lost in Week 1. However, for this article, we care more about whether their defenses and special teams showed up.
With that being said, let’s take a look at our three picks for this week!
New York Giants – 34.5%
Last week could only be described as a travesty for the Giants and a dream come true for the Dallas Cowboys. A 40-to-Nothin’ walloping on Prime Time television. As close as a football game can get to being ruled a “crime against humanity.”
That being said, the Giants are going to come back with a vengeance against the Arizona Cardinals this week. Last week, the Commanders had 2 fumbles and 3 sacks on the Cardinals. While the Commanders have a better defensive line than the Giants, the Giants have a better defensive secondary.
After a disappointing Week 1, I’m betting on the Giants to show off in Week 2.
Denver Broncos – 19.4%
The Bronco’s defense struggled against the Raiders last week in a low-scoring affair. This week they will host the Commanders. Sam Howell looked rough last week. He had a couple of throws that looked like they should have been intercepted. The Broncos have a far superior defense than the Cardinals. Their secondary alone is better than most teams in the league! They should be in for a good week if the offence can keep the defense rested.
Indianapolis Colts – 8.6%
Now this is not me being biased, but the Colts’ defense played better than most of the teams in the league last week. You may have seen the highlight of two forced fumbles, sack, and touchdown play by them, but did you see the other interception? Did you see the number of big hits? Did you see the pressure the line put on Trevor Lawrence?
Look at that! Pro Football Focus has three of the Colts’ Front 7 rated at the top of their positions! The defense is legit and this week they get the Houston Texans. It just came out within the past 24 hours that rookie quarterback CJ Stroud is on the injury report. This is good news for the Colts D/ST.
Conclusion
As always, we will continue to learn and grow with each week. We started off hot, but mostly lucky. We very well could have been 3-2 to start instead of our 5-0. This week, I have three lower-rostered teams that all have promising matchups. Good luck to you all! I hope these picks help! As I always say to finish these articles: May the Streams flow your way!
For our complete list of expert rankings, check out our Rankings Page.
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.