As August winds to a close and we prepare for another NFL season, fantasy football players everywhere are poring over mock drafts, expert analysis, and any other insight they can get their hands on to nail their 2024 fantasy football draft strategy. What we often forget, however, is how vital the waiver wire can be to a successful season — especially when it comes to forgotten roster spots like Defenses (D/ST).
Team D/ST units typically go in the last few rounds of drafts or, if your league allows it, are not being drafted at all. Regardless, you may not think much about who you slot in for Week 1, but you should.
Anyone who rode the wave with the Cowboys or Ravens last year, racking up over ten points per game, can tell you having a top defense is a huge advantage week to week. Nonetheless, there are only a handful of top fantasy defenses yearly, and even those teams aren’t matchup-proof.
Once the season gets going, I love the strategy of streaming defenses week-to-week and finding hidden gems with a string of great matchups that nobody else is looking for. This is tougher earlier in the season as we don’t know for sure who the weaker offenses will be, but it’s still doable and can mean the difference between starting the season at the top of the standings or in the basement.
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That being said, here are my favorite 2024 fantasy football defenses to draft and early-season DST streamers to target off the waiver wire.
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL DEFENSES TO DRAFT
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS DST (ADP: 162)
Opening Schedule: vs. NYJ, @MIN, @LAR
Unsurprisingly, San Francisco’s stout unit is being drafted higher than any other defense coming off yet another Super Bowl appearance a season ago. The 49ers did make some coaching changes on defense after last season, firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, but their new DC, Nick Sorensen, was on the staff last year, so the learning curve should be minimal compared to an outside hire.
Sorensen’s primary focus as an assistant on defense was in the secondary, which is really the only potential concern for San Francisco to start the year. Talanoa Hufunga is still working back from a torn ACL suffered in Week 11 last year, leaving second-year man Ji’Ayir Brown and special teamer George Odum as the team’s primary safeties. Hufunga coming back will be key, whenever that ends up being, but with a front seven consisting of Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and the newly acquired Leonard Floyd, San Francisco’s defense should be able to weather the storm early on.
Their early-season schedule isn’t the most generous, including starting the year against what should be a much better Jets offense with Aaron Rodgers under center. But, things get easier in Weeks 2 and 3, and the 49ers are perhaps the closest thing to a matchup-proof defense as we have in the entire league.
MIAMI DOLPHINS DST (ADP: 201)
Opening Schedule: vs. JAX, vs. BUF, @SEA
The Dolphins had a decent showing defensively last year, finishing tenth in total yardage and seventh against the run, but the injury bug bit them hard, especially in the second half of the year. Jalen Ramsey, Jaelan Phillips, and Bradley Chubb all missed significant time due to injury, and the result was a subpar finish to the season that led to Vic Fangio losing his job as defensive coordinator. His replacement is Anthony Weaver, who most recently served as assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the Ravens.
Miami lost a handful of defensive starters in the offseason. Still, it minimized the damage by acquiring veterans like Jordyn Brooks, Jordan Poyer, and Calais Campbell in free agency, as well as using the 21st overall pick on edge rusher Chop Robinson out of Penn State. They were at their worst last year against the pass, where they ranked 15th, but that should improve this year with the acquisition of Kendall Fuller to start at corner opposite Ramsey.
This new-look unit has a relatively easy start to the season, opening up at home against the Jaguars and Bills before making the longest domestic commute any team will make this season to play the Seahawks in Seattle. By most metrics, Miami has one of the easier schedules in the NFL this year, so you may be able to hold onto them for a while — at least until their Week 6 bye.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The Baltimore Ravens have the second-highest ADP for a D/ST behind San Francisco and could very well be in for a great year. However, road matchups with Kansas City and Dallas in the first three weeks make me hesitant to acquire them right away.
The New York Jets aren’t a great selection for Week 1 as they start with a tough matchup against the 49ers. But, considering they’ll follow that up with a trip to Nashville to face the Titans and then home matchups against New England and Denver, it may be worth grabbing them early and subbing in another streamer option for Week 1—or just hoping they can hold their own against the reigning NFC champs.
EARLY-SEASON DST STREAMERS
(As is the case with our weekly D/ST waiver targets in season, all Waiver Wire streaming targets will be less than 50% owned on Sleeper)
CINCINNATI BENGALS (32% ROSTERED)
Opening Schedule: vs. NE, @KC, vs. WAS
The Bengals had a forgettable defensive season last year, finishing 31st in yardage and 21st in scoring en route to a last-place finish in the AFC North. They struggled significantly against the run, finishing 26th in rush defense after a 7th-place finish the season before, and their secondary never fully recovered from losing Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency.
Cincy’s front office prioritized fixing all levels of the defense in the offseason, bringing back Bell and signing Geno Stone, two safeties that will allow 2022 first-round pick Dax Hill to shift back to his natural cornerback spot. They also invested $26 million over two years to bring in Sheldon Rankins, who will join Sam Hubbard, Trey Hendrickson, and BJ Hill to form a strong front four.
A healthy Joe Burrow should hopefully lead to an improved offense that also takes some pressure off this defensive unit. Depending on New England’s QB decision, Cincinnati could face two rookie quarterbacks in their first three games, split up by a tough road matchup in Kansas City.
GREEN BAY PACKERS (7%)
Opening Schedule: @PHI (Brazil), vs. IND, @TEN
The Packers’ defense was average last year statistically, finishing 17th in yards allowed and 10th in scoring. However, a slow-paced offense helped them, as it allowed them to face a league-low 10.2 drives per game.
They finished the season with just seven interceptions, the second-lowest number in the league, contributing to their 20th-place finish in fantasy scoring. Their lackluster performance had Packers fans calling for Joe Barry’s job all season long, and he was finally fired four days after their Divisional Round loss to San Francisco.
Barry’s replacement, former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley, made it clear right after he was hired that his top priority was inking a talented safety. He described his ideal addition as wanting “a guy who can erase things. If a run hits up the middle, this guy’s gotta come out of the middle field with his hair on fire; he’s gotta be able to get a guy down.”
About three weeks after these statements were made, Green Bay’s front office granted his wish, signing former Giants safety Xavier McKinney to a four-year deal worth up to $68 million.
McKinney will head up a secondary that includes two talented but injury-prone corners in Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, who both missed time last season. Their two leading tacklers from a season ago, Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, are back, as is Rashan Gary, coming off leading the team with nine sacks. They also spent a great deal of mid-round draft capital on shoring up their linebacker and secondary units.
Green Bay starts the season with the NFL’s first-ever game in Brazil, facing a tough Eagles offense. But, it follows up with two potentially lucrative matchups against Indianapolis and Tennessee, both led by second-year quarterbacks.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The Seattle Seahawks (41%) hired a defensive-minded head coach in Mike Macdonald in the offseason and added Jerome Baker in free agency and Byron Murphy in the draft, among others. They’ll start the season hosting Denver, followed by a trip to New England and a home game against the Dolphins.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (65%) will look very different this year after losing Shaq Barrett, Devin White, and Carlton Davis in the offseason. Still, they retained a few familiar faces in Antoine Winfield and Lavonte David and added safety help by signing Jordan Whitehead and drafting Tykee Smith. Tampa starts the year with a chance to spoil Jayden Daniels’ NFL debut before traveling to Detroit and then hosting the Broncos and their own rookie QB, Bo Nix, in Week 3.
