Fantasy Football Week 2 waiver wire pickups: Top 5 D/ST’s
Throughout the fantasy season, no roster spot goes through more turnover on most teams than team defense. Many owners have started streaming defenses based on opponent since so much of defensive scoring is based on the performance of the team the unit is playing against.
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If you’re a dedicated defense streamer, check back every week when I’ll give you my top five for each week based on form, matchup, and availability. As with all my waiver wire pickups, all players (or units) listed are available in over half of ESPN leagues as of Tuesday.
My top unit for last week was the Texans who dismantled Washington and are again in a favorable matchup against the Jaguars this week. If you have them, I’d hold them for another week, but they aren’t available in over half of ESPN leagues anymore, so they no longer make the cut for this list.
Here are my top 5 D/ST’s to pick up and play week 2:
player. 35. Tennessee picked up an impressive road win stymying the Chiefs and Jamaal Charles at Arrowhead Stadium. They forced three turnovers on the day while sacking Alex Smith four times. Jason McCourty played especially well coming up with a pair of picks while Wesley Woodyard and Bernard Pollard led the team in tackles and Woodyard also had one of the team’s sacks. This week, the Titans come home to face the Cowboys who allowed the third-most fantasy points to an opposing D last week in their struggle against the 49ers. With Romo struggling to throw the ball, this could be another big week for the Titans D which showed it can make plays.. 4.6% owned. Week 2 vs Cowboys. Tennessee Titans. 1
6.6% owned. Week 2 @ Bills. Miami Dolphins. 2. player. 59. Even though the Bills looked good in their road win in Chicago, I like the Dolphins defense enough to give them my #2 spot. Last week, they brought a ton of pressure on Tom Brady sacking him four times and forcing two turnovers on strip sacks. The Dolphins will have to go on the road, but they played like an inspired group week 1 and will look to keep that momentum going this week against E.J. Manuel and the Bills.
52. The Jags D played two contrasting halves in their game against the Eagles. They held the Eagles scoreless in the first half forcing Nick Foles into turnovers and looked excellent before breaking down and giving up 27 in the second half (the last TD was a defensive score for the Eagles). In the end, they forced three turnovers and had fives sacks. The leading tackler by far was linebacker Paul Posluszny who leads an underrated defense into Washington to take on RG3 and the team that allowed more defensive points than any other tea last week. The Jags are a bit of a flier, but I haven’t seen enough from the Redskins offense to thing they’re on the verge of a big game.. 1.1% owned. Week 2 vs Redskins. Jacksonville Jaguars. 3. player
Week 2 @ Panthers. Detroit Lions. 4. player. 50. The Lions defense turned in a solid effort on Monday Night Football against the Giants and will now have a short week as the travel to Carolina. Cam Newton is expected to play, but the Lions are still worth considering if they’re on your wire. Detroit picked off Eli twice last week while adding a pair of sacks and holding the Giants to just 14 points and under 200 total yards of offense. Part of those numbers are the Giants struggling, but I think the Lions D played well too. The Panthers are an interesting matchup for Detroit, but I think they’re D is a decent play this week if other options are off the table.. 10.0% owned
Week 2 vs Steelers. Baltimore Ravens. 5. player. 26. The Ravens defense played bend but don’t break defense until the closing minutes of the game when they lost track of A.J. Green for a big TD in their loss to the Bengals. This week, they’ll be at home agains the Steelers in an AFC North rivalry that usually provides us with plenty of gritty defense and some exciting plays from defensive difference makers. The Ravens are a flier, but there is definitely some upside to adding them for the week.. 16.2% owned
This list of QB’s is part of my weekly waiver wire focus. If you need further help constructing your team, check out my top ten waiver wire picks of the week as well as my top waiver targets at each of the following positions: QB, RB, WR, and TE.