After a week of one-sided ordeals in the NFL, we had a return to the 2026 norm of one-score games in Week 6.
Through Sunday’s late afternoon slate, ten out of 12 games in Week 6 have been decided by eight points or less, including two overtime games. We also had some surprising upsets, including the Titans winning their first game of the year as touchdown underdogs to the Colts, and the Cardinals going into LA as 12.5 point dogs and beating the Rams outright with only field goals.
One of our streamer picks for Week 6 was San Francisco, who as of this writing have yet to play as they will host the Commanders on Monday Night Football. But we’ve gotten great performances from our other selections; the Chiefs, our top pick of the week, put up 16 points via four sacks and two turnovers in a dominant 22-6 win over the Chargers, and the Browns finished with ten points on three sacks and a turnover in a 13-10 home win against Baltimore.
Week 7 brings with it plenty of streaming opportunities, from the DST7 Jaguars on a bye week after back to back London games, to the 86%-rostered Patriots facing the high-powered Bears offense on Thursday night, to a Chiefs vs. Seahawks matchup on Sunday night that could be tough on both defenses, but especially Seattle.
So who should we look at to hold down our defense spot this week? Let’s find out as we take a look at the best fantasy football Week 7 defense streamers (D/ST) you should be snagging from this week’s waiver wire.
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 7 DEFENSE STREAMERS (D/ST)
CLEVELAND BROWNS (17% ROSTERED)
I swear, I don’t want to have to pick the Browns every week. But they keep playing well and getting good matchups and you all keep ignoring them!
Cleveland has been a featured streamer selection in each of the last three weeks, and over that stretch against the Steelers, Jets, and Ravens, they’re averaging over ten points per game with 12 sacks and five turnovers.
Since putting up one point in Week 1 against the Jags, they’ve averaged nine points per game with at least three sacks and one turnover in every contest, moving their way up to a DST13 ranking in the process.
Honestly — I’ve been talking about the (first place) Browns for three weeks, so there isn’t much left to say. They’re a very good defense that the fantasy world just seems content to ignore. And this week might be their best matchup yet.
No, that’s not a misprint — that’s Cam Ward‘s stat line in a WIN, Tennessee’s first of the season. Down 13-0 at halftime, Tennessee rallied to score 20 unanswered points to start the second half via two field goals, a short passing touchdown, and a blocked punt returned for a score. They tacked on two more field goals in the fourth quarter and won 26-20 despite having only 186 yards of total offense and only one pass catcher that topped 22 yards receiving.
So, yes, the Titans got in the win column and scored more than 20 points for the first time this season, but I’m not looking at it as anything close to progress for their offense. They’ve allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses this season, and even the very little they accomplished in Week 6 came against an Indy defense that’s scored more than four points just once on the year.
The Browns are a much better unit than the Colts and should send Ward and Tennessee’s offense back to the gulag they briefly snuck out of this week. And maybe, finally, this week we’ll see Cleveland surpass 50% ownership so I can stop being forced to pick them every week? Please?
NEW YORK JETS (8%)
The Jets have come a long way since being the DST32 a season ago with less than two points per game and a grand total of zero interceptions. They haven’t improved much in the INT department with just one pick this year, but they’ve become a top ten fantasy unit by rising into the top five in both sacks and scoring defense through five weeks.
Even in a loss to the Patriots in Week 6, the Jets managed a respectable seven points despite failing to sack Drake Maye, forcing three fumbles and recovering two of them in the 26-19 defeat. It was their first game of this season with no sacks, having averaged 3.4 per game through the first five weeks, and only the second time they’ve allowed more than 23 points this year.
Five players on New York’s defense have multiple sacks through six games, led by rookie linebacker David Bailey, who sacked Deshaun Watson three times in Week 5 and has five sacks on the season, catapulting him up to the top odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
New York will be looking to rebound from a tough divisional loss this week, and luckily for them, they get what should be a fairly easy divisional matchup to do so.
Things just keep going from bad to worse for the Miami Dolphins. Through five games (they were mercifully on a bye this past week), none of their opposing DSTs have scored less than eight points.
They’ve allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing defenses, and their 2.8 sacks allowed per game is tied for sixth. Per PFF, every Miami offensive lineman who was on the field for at least ten pass blocking snaps in their Week 5 loss to Cincinnati allowed multiple pressures.
Miami was already the go-to streaming target for 2026, and that was before De’Von Achane got hurt and eliminated the small amount of star power this offense once had. We’ll continue to target them for the rest of the year unless something drastically changes, and they’re certainly going to struggle on the road this week against a top ten defense in the New York Jets.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (13%)
Through four weeks of the 2026 season, it looked like the Saints defense was going to be an afterthought at best and a laughingstock at worst. After Week 4, they were the DST30 scoring just three points per game, had allowed 31+ points in three of four games, had forced just two turnovers, and were coming off a 45-24 beatdown at the hands of their division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons.
What a difference a couple of weeks makes. In the two contests since that blowout loss to Atlanta, they’ve scored 28 fantasy points with seven sacks and five turnovers, including an 87-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Week 5. They’re the league’s top ranked fantasy defense over the last two weeks, and even though they’re still the DST25 for the full season, things are looking up in New Orleans.
Most recently, the Saints had a road matchup against Jameis Winston and the Giants, which led to a relatively minor 8% ownership bump up to their current 13%. The Saints won to improve to 2-4 on the year, sacking Winston and JJ McCarthy a combined five times and picking them off three times in the 34-27 victory.
The Saints will look to make it three straight strong performances before a Week 8 bye, and they’ll do it against a Steelers offense that’s been a mixed bag so far in 2026.
Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers needed overtime to beat the 1-4 Bucs in Week 6, but they pulled off the win and put up some decent numbers in the process. Rodgers overcame his slow start and ended up throwing for 253 yards and two scores, while both DK Metcalf and Germie Bernard caught 11 passes on the afternoon.
Despite the win, Rodgers did throw a pick and was also sacked five times, his second five-sack game in three weeks. Pittsburgh’s QB has looked like his old self at times this year, but in other moments it’s been very clear we’re looking at a guy who is fighting a losing battle with Father Time.
Another huge factor of this game is the location. For the first time in league history, the NFL will kick off a game in France as these two teams head to Paris despite violent protests in France’s capital city over the past couple of weeks. Civil unrest aside, trans-Atlantic flights can be tough on anyone’s body, never mind a 42-year-old that’s been tackled by NFL defensive linemen 19 times over the last six weeks.
The Saints have one of the oldest defenses in the league with an average age of over 28, so they’ll feel the impact of the flight as well, but not nearly as much as Rodgers. Add in their recent performances and Pittsburgh’s inconsistencies offensively in 2026 and New Orleans should be in for a solid day across the pond.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Carolina Panthers (30%): Carolina put up four points in a win over the shorthanded Eagles in Week 6. They’ll head back home this week to host the 1-5 Bucs.
Tennessee Titans (2%): Tennessee’s 22 points in their Week 6 win over the Colts were more than their total points from Weeks 1-5 (19), booned by a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. They head back home this week, looking to extend their win streak to two against the Browns.
