Through Sunday’s action, two of the top fantasy D/ST performances of the week came from unsurprising sources, as the 49ers (99% rostered, 26 points) and Browns (84% rostered, 12 points) beat up on the Patriots and Raiders, respectively.
However, the rest of the top five performances of the week to this point came via the Falcons, Buccaneers, and Broncos, who were all available in over half of leagues heading into Sunday’s action. Even better, the Falcons and Broncos were both rostered in just 4% of leagues this week, showing how fickle and unpredictable assessing fantasy defenses can be.
READ: FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 5 WAIVER WIRE
Week 5 brings with it some great matchups, as well as the first bye weeks of the NFL season. The Lions, Chargers, Eagles, and Titans will be idle this week, making this a great time to debut a new feature on our weekly D/ST streamer picks.
Before we get into our picks and why we like them, we’ll highlight a few defenses who, either because of bye weeks or poor matchups, you should definitely be looking to replace with a streamer — even if it’s just for this week.
DEFENSES TO AVOID IN WEEK 5
BYE WEEKS
As mentioned, the Lions, Chargers, Eagles, and Titans will all be inactive this week, so obviously you should be looking to replace them for your Week 5 matchup.
Looking specifically at Detroit and Tennessee, they both have multiple tough matchups coming their way out of the bye week, so those units you can feel good about dropping completely for now. The Chargers and Eagles, however, both have solid stretches coming out of the bye against weaker offensive units, so if you have the roster flexibility to stash them for the bye week, I’d definitely recommend doing so.
MATCHUP-BASED
Houston Texans (59% rostered): The Texans have struggled the last few weeks defensively and now find themselves in a potential playoff preview with the surging Bills. New England in Week 6 presents a great bounce back opportunity for them, but I won’t be starting the Texans D/ST in Week 5.
Pittsburgh Steelers (93% rostered): This one may seem a little crazy, but a primetime game against Dallas (who’ve yielded the 3rd-fewest fantasy points to opposing defenses) scares me a whole lot, and I’d definitely consider looking into streaming options for the Steelers this week. Definitely hold onto them, though, as they’ll follow this week with the Raiders, Jets, and Giants before their own Week 9 bye.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 5 DEFENSE STREAMERS (DST)
DENVER BRONCOS DST (4% ROSTERED ON SLEEPER)
vs Las Vegas Raiders | 4:05 PM
The Broncos are quietly putting up a top five fantasy DST season so far, and actually have more fantasy points scored (28) than real points allowed (16) over their past two games. In consecutive wins over the Buccaneers and Jets, Denver’s D has racked up 12 sacks and three turnovers, moving their season-long totals up to 16 sacks and four turnovers.
If Bo Nix is going to continue throwing for negative yards in a half like he did this past week, the defense will have to keep showing up in a big way for them to stay competitive. And luckily for that defense, this week they’ll be home in Denver against the Las Vegas Raiders, who have given up the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses with 14 sacks allowed and six turnovers.
Despite beating the Browns this week, the Raiders showed us that if they’re going to win games against above average defenses, they need to have success on the ground. Zamir White struggled with just 2.9 YPC on 17 runs, but Alexander Mattison stepped up with 60 yards on five carries and the team as a whole rushed for over 150 yards, while Gardner Minshew threw for just 130.
The Broncos have been a top five defense against the pass, so I have no major concerns about them being able to bottle up Minshew. As long as they can keep White and Mattison in check and force Las Vegas into some long second and third down plays, they should be in good shape. Mix in a few sacks and a turnover or two, and we could be looking at a great day for a defense that’s currently available in 96% of Sleeper leagues.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (35%)
vs New York Giants | 4:25 PM
Heading into a tough MNF matchup with the Lions, the Seahawks defense has been beating up on inferior opponents so far in 2024. In matchups against Denver, New England, and Miami — three of the top 10 teams in terms of FPPG allowed to opposing defenses — they’ve accumulated 11 sacks, three turnovers, and put up an average of 11 fantasy points per game.
As this is being written before MNF action, I’m very curious to see how Seattle’s defense holds up against their first true test of the year. Regardless of how that game turns out, however, Seattle is a great streaming option for Week 5 as they face the struggling Giants at home.
The Giants have given up the sixth-most FPPG to opposing defenses en route to a 1-3 start. Malik Nabers has started emerging as a legitimate weapon in an otherwise ugly offense, but he remains questionable after leaving Thursday’s game with a concussion. Even if Nabers is able to be cleared for play this week, it may not matter with how Daniel Jones and the rest of New York’s offense has looked.
Through four games, the Giants are scoring just 15 points per game and rushing for just over 85 yards per game, both of which have them ranked 30th in the league. As long as Seattle can show up as they’ve done so far this year and continue generating pressure up front, they’re a great streaming option.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (6%)
@ Jacksonville Jaguars | 1 PM
After a relatively slow start, Indy’s DST has come on strong as of late, racking up 11 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks with eight sacks and five turnovers in that stretch. They haven’t faced incredible competition in that period, going up against the Bears and Steelers, but most would agree both of those offenses have been much more impressive so far in 2024 than their next opponent.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it — Trevor Lawrence has been one of the worst QBs in the league thus far in 2024. He’s ranked 32nd in completion percentage, 22nd in passing yards, and 26th in passer rating at 78.9. He’s managed to mitigate the damage by limiting turnovers as he has just one through four weeks, but it hasn’t been enough — Jacksonville is 0-4 and has yielded the eighth-most points to fantasy defenses.
Indy isn’t my favorite option of the week, as they may once again be missing defensive starters Kenny Moore II and Kwity Paye, but they were able to power through those absences in Week 4 and will now face one of the league’s most disappointing offenses. If you can’t get Denver or Seattle, the Colts are a worthy choice for Week 5.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
New England Patriots (3% rostered): The Patriots have struggled since starting the season with a 13-point performance in Cincinnati, but will host the depleted Dolphins in Week 5 hoping to get back in the win column.
Chicago Bears (37%): Chicago put up nine points last week in a win over the Rams and will stay home to host the Panthers, who haven’t been as much of a streaming target since Andy Dalton took over, but still have their share of issues offensively.
Washington Commanders (11%): After beating down the Cardinals on the road in Week 4, the first-place Commanders will return home to host Deshaun Watson and the Browns on Sunday.
