It’s the second week of byes and the season is in full swing. We have a decent picture of which teams are good, both in the NFL and in our fantasy leagues. Several fantasy-relevant offensive players are on bye, so the value of a bench spot is at an all-time high. Because matchup quality is so much more important than defense quality, I don’t believe that any defenses are set-and-forget in your starting lineup. But I do think it’s possible for a few defenses to reach the level of being undroppable or at least worth a bench spot through their worst matchups. So for this week, I thought I’d go through some of the teams I think have the best ROS outlook.

• The Minnesota Vikings (84% rostered) might have the best defense in the league in a real-world sense and are the likeliest candidates for true undroppable status. They have a bye this week and a non-starter Lions matchup in Week 7, but I think they’re definitely worth the bench spot to hold through those two weeks. They should be viable for at least the four following weeks (8-11) against the Rams, Colts, Jags and Titans. The schedule gets more questionable after that but a defense this good could still be viable against teams like the Bears and the Cardinals. Keep an eye out for leagumates who might drop the Vikings going in to their bye.
• The Denver Broncos (81% rostered) have looked excellent on defense, and are tied for second-fewest points allowed per game. They’re a solid start against the Chargers this week, and then get two middling matchups where only a defense this good is startable – the Saints and Panthers. Starting in Week 9 the Broncos have 3 fade-worthy matchups (@ BAL, @ KC, vs ATL). Holding a defense on the bench for 3 consecutive weeks is a tough ask, but if you can get through that, the schedule looks mostly good from Week 12 onward, including the fantasy playoffs: @ LV, vs CLE, Bye, vs IND, @ LAC, @ CIN.
• The Los Angeles Chargers (14% rostered) are also among the best real-world defenses, and lead the league in points allowed so far. This week is the start of 6 consecutive matchups that range from OK to great for the chargers: @ DEN, @ ARI, vs NO, @ CLE, vs TEN, vs CIN. In Weeks 12-15 they get a few of matchups I’m likely to fade (vs BAL, @ ATL, @ KC, vs TB). But if you hold through that or can pick them up afterword, they could be league-winners in the fantasy playoffs with Denver in Week 16 and New England in Week 17.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers (90% rostered) have quite a good defense, and are the other half of that Broncos tie for 2nd-fewest points allowed per game. This week is the beginning of 3-game stretch of good matchups for Pittsburgh, against the Raiders, Jets and Giants. Then they become a possible hold candidate in weeks 9-11 (bye, @WAS, vs BAL) to get to weeks 12-14. While we’re battling for spots in the fantasy playoffs, the Steelers get the Browns, the Bengals and the Browns again.
• The Buffalo Bills (66% rostered) are an above-average defense and have a couple good matchups with the Jets this week and the Titans next week. I’m not really interested in spending a bench spot when they aren’t starting after that, except they might be worth picking up a week or 2 early to target their matchups in the fantasy playoffs: vs NE in Week 16 and vs NYJ in Week 17.

I also wanted to mention a few defenses that have high rostership but I do not think are worth a bench spot in bad matchups.

• The San Francisco 49ers (98% rostered) have a solid matchup against the Seahawks this week, but are a good drop candidate afterword. Their next three weeks are KC, DAL and a Bye, and the schedule looks pretty brutal overall. The only opponents they’re likely to be usable against after this week are Seattle again in Week 11 and the Rams in Week 15.
• The Chicago Bears (74% rostered) are like the 49ers in that they’re a good defense but tough to hold ROS due to their schedule. They’re playable against Jacksonville this week, but follow that up with a Bye and the Commanders in Weeks 7-8. I think it’s OK if you want to hold them through that to get to Week 9 @ ARI and Week 10 vs NE, but I’m definitely dropping the bears after Week 10. None of their remaining matchups look viable except possibly Seattle in Week 17.
• The New York Jets (90% rostered) are looking better on defense but I see them as more of a streamer from now until their Week 12 bye, with the Patriots in Week 8 looking like the best target. But they could become an asset again after the Bye with a Week 13-16 schedule of vs SEA, @ MIA, @ JAC, vs LAR.
• The Dallas Cowboys (69% rostered) were highly drafted based on last year’s results, but they aren’t that team this year and the schedule is not great. Their only remaining matchup I’m particularly excited about is Week 13 vs NYG.
• The Baltimore Ravens (86% rostered) aren’t worth a bench spot with only a few attractive matchups remaining, such as the Week 8 @ CLE and Week 15 @ NYG.

Streaming Defenses: Waiver Wire & Start/Sit Advice (Week 6)

We have four teams on bye again this week – KC, LAR, MIA and MIN. That’s a couple good defenses and was awful offense off the board, so it’s a tighter week for streaming. Rostership numbers are from Yahoo. You can find me on Twitter and Threads.

Week 6 D/ST Projections

Matchups

1. PHI vs CLE: DeShaun Watson is on another level right now. It’s only by the grace of the ridiculous circumstance the Browns put themselves in that someone playing this badly would continue to see the field at all. Last week the Commanders went into their game with the Browns in the bottom 10 for sacks, with just 8 through for games. They got to Watson an incredible 7 times, tied for most in the league, making them a top-5 fantasy defense. If you think defenses have been feasting on the Browns so far, wait until you see what the Eagles defensive line does at home.
2. HOU @ NE: The Patriots remain committed to starting Jacoby Brissett despite the awful results, in order to protect rookie Drake Maye from the dangers of this offensive line. Brisset, to his credit, has kept the turnovers to a minimum. But the sack numbers are high if not eye-popping, and the offense overall just doesn’t work. Through 5 games the patriots have scored just 12.4 points per game on average, the second-lowest in the league ahead of the Dolphins. This is a great matchup for a good Texans defense.
3. PIT @ LV: Last week, the Raiders benched Gardner Minshew II mid-game for the second time this season. It’s not clear yet if this benching will stick, but I’m operating under the assumption that backup Aidan O’Connell will get the start. Swapping Minshew for O’Connell might lower the Raiders’ turnover expectations a bit, but this is a great matchup either way. The Steelers’ defense has been excellent so far and are an easy start in a matchup this good.
4. IND @ TEN: The Colts have a below-average defense, and while the Titans offense might be bad, they aren’t the worst – they rank outside the bottom-ten in points per game. But in a fantasy sense, they have been the #1 offense to target because they’ve given up a defensive touchdown every week. Even for an offense that’s done it so much, a defensive touchdown is never the median expectation. But the upside is clearly there, to the point where the Colts are likely worth starting.
5. LV vs PIT: Justin Fields surprised the league by playing reasonably well as the Steelers’ starter in the absence of the injured Russell Wilson. But the results have slowed down, with the Steelers losing their last two games after starting 3-0. Wilson might be available to play this week, but given how Fields has played I don’t expect Wilson to get the ball back immediately. Fields leads an offense that’s low-scoring even in wins and takes sacks at a solid rate, so this is a good opportunity for Maxx Crosby and the Raiders. If Wilson does get the start, I expect him to be rusty and ineffective.
6. TB @ NO: Saints QB Derek Carr suffered an oblique injury in last week’s game, giving way to backup Jake Haener. Haener was a 4th-round draft pick out of Fresno State in 2023, but hasn’t seen significant playing time yet, with just a few NFL snaps this season. It’s not yet clear if Carr’s injury will keep him sidelined this week. This rank reflects the assumption that Haener will start in which case the Buccaneers are a great streaming option. I’m not really interested in the Bucs if Carr is able to play.
7. LAC @ DEN: Bo Nix has mostly removed himself from the conversation of DST targets. He hasn’t had a turnover since Week 2 and is taking an average of just 1.4 sacks per game. However, the Chargers defense is just that good. On a per-game basis, the chargers are #1 in points allowed and top-5 in yards allowed. This game should be a low-scoring slog where the Chargers will have a solid floor even if the turnover upside is limited.
8. DEN vs LAC: The Chargers might be the #1 points defense in the league, but the Broncos are close behind tied at #2 (with the Steelers). The outlook for the Broncos is similar as well: a low-scoring defensive battle with somewhat limited sack/turnover upside against a run-first offense.
9. BUF @ NYJ: Aaron Rodgers was looking like his old self after week 3, but he came back down to earth with two pretty bad performances against admittedly great defenses from the Broncos and Vikings. The Bills are no slouch either and I expect Rodgers to have similar struggles. While Rodgers has good ball security in general, he did throw three interceptions against the Vikings and I think the Bills should have a similar ability to capitalize on mistakes. Additionally, the Jets just fired head coach Robert Saleh. It’s not unusual for a team to have a bounce-back game following a coach firing, though Saleh was not the play-caller – those duties remain with OC Nathaniel Hackett. So I don’t expect this offense to look very different.
10. SF @ SEA: Last week, Geno Smith took a league-lead-tying 7 sacks from a good Giants pass rush. The 49ers didn’t have their best defensive showing last week, but I expect their pass rush to get to Geno in a similar fashion to the Giants. For managers that drafted the 49ers, they are usable with some upside this week, even if the matchup is only moderately good.
11. CHI vs JAC: Trevor Lawrence had his best game of the season last week, putting up 37 points and avoiding sacks with just one turnover. But that was against a pretty bad Colts defense, and snapped a 4-game losing streak where the Jags failed to exceed 20 points in a game. The Bears have one of the better defenses in the league and should be able to shut that down.