Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets & FAAB Advice: Defenses (Week 2)

We will have you covered throughout the 2023 fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out our top waiver wire targets for the week below.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets

Defenses

Written by Pat Fitzmaurice

New York Giants (7% rostered)

• Next Opponents: @ARI, @SF, SEA
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: The Giants were squashed by the Cowboys in Week 1, but the G-Men have a juicy Week 2 matchup against the Cardinals, a team that fantasy managers are going to be targeting with their streaming defenses all season long. Arizona generated only 210 yards of total offense in its season opener.

Cleveland Browns (10% rostered)

• Next Opponents: @PIT, TEN, BAL
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: Cleveland’s defense stymied Cincinnati in Week 1, holding Joe Burrow to just 82 passing yards on 31 attempts. The Bengals could muster only six first downs while squeezing out a meager 142 yards of offense on 54 offensive plays. Next up for the Browns: a Steelers offense that struggled mightily against the 49ers in Week 1, followed by a Titans offense that sputtered in a Week 1 loss to the Saints.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20% rostered)

• Next Opponents: CHI, PHI, @NO
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $1
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: The Buccaneers’ tour of the NFL North resumes in Week 2. The Bucs went up to Minnesota and held the Vikings to 17 points in their home opener. Now, Tampa plays its first home game of the regular season against the Bears. After taking a league-high 55 sacks last year, Bears QB Justin Fields was sacked four times by the Packers, and he also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. The Buccaneers are a solid one-week defensive play, but discard them before they face the Eagles in Week 3.

Los Angeles Chargers (9% rostered)

• Next Opponents: @TEN, @MIN, LV
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $1
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: Why pick up a Chargers’ defense that was blowtorched by Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins in Week 1? Only because the Chargers get an unattractive Week 2 date against a Titans offense that was sacked three times and intercepted three times in Week 1. The Tennessee offensive line is abysmal, and QB Ryan Tannehill looked awful in Week 1. Don’t be shy about firing up the Chargers as a streaming defense this week.

Indianapolis Colts (2% rostered)

• Next Opponents: @HOU, @BAL, LAR
• True value: $1
• Desperate Need: $1
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: The Colts’ defense didn’t play especially well against the Jaguars in Week 1, but now it gets an appealing Week 2 matchup against the Texans and rookie QB C.J. Stroud, who was sacked five times by the Ravens last week in his NFL debut.