Best DST Streaming Options For Week 1 Fantasy Football
If you're like me, you come into every fantasy league intending to stream defenses. You may have even not selected a defense at all during your draft — this is a strategy I highly recommend on platforms like Sleeper, which allow it. Holding a skill position player, especially a handcuff RB or one in a murky committee that may gain clarity as we approach Week 1, has infinitely more upside than simply rostering a defense for the sake of it (the same goes for kickers, by the way).
However, now that we are at the start of the season, it is time to let go of those dart throws and actually get a defense in your lineup. Let's take a look at some options that may be available in your league that could help you put up fantasy points.
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Week 1 Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options
Washington Commanders vs. Arizona Cardinals
This is the most obvious stream of the week and the one I've ended up with in the majority of my leagues. Our Week 1 Projections have the Commanders ranked as the sixth-best defense at home against the likely Joshua Dobbs-led Cardinals, who have by far the lowest implied Week 1 total of any team at 15.25. This matchup is so good another member of our staff already wrote a full breakdown of it. Despite this, the Commanders are still rostered in just 43% of leagues. If you need a defense and your league is part of the 57%, this is the obvious choice.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams
Continuing the trend of picking on NFC West teams that project to be very bad offensively, the Seahawks against the Rams are a nice streaming option. With Cooper Kupp ruled out, the Rams have essentially zero playmakers on the offensive side of the ball aside from 35-year-old Matthew Stafford (sorry Puka Nacua truthers, a fifth-round rookie is not a guaranteed star).
Seattle's high-powered offense is likely to put up plenty of points on the Rams, forcing Stafford to drop back early and often behind an O-line that was bad last year and may have gotten even worse over the offseason. According to Seattle's depth chart, fifth-overall pick CB Devon Witherspoon won't be starting in Week 1 as he works his way back from an injury suffered in training camp, but Tre Brown has reportedly been lighting it up in camp and earned his start across from 2022 Pro-Bowler Tariq Woolen.
A young, hungry defense at home against an offense missing its star player in what projects to be a negative game script, the Seahawks are the quintessential streaming option. They are only rostered in 14% of leagues, so there's a good chance you will be able to snag them.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
The Jaguars finished as a top-10 fantasy defense in 2022, but this play isn't about them. It's all about their matchup with the Colts. Everyone knows that rookie quarterbacks in their NFL debuts are prone to mistakes, and Anthony Richardson may be even more prone than most. His much-discussed struggles with accuracy in college were still present in his preseason action, as he consistently sailed passes over open receivers, albeit in between flashes of huge potential.
According to PPF, among QBs with at least 19 preseason dropbacks, Richardson's 7.9% turnover-worthy play rate was the fourth-worst, behind fellow rookies Will Levis and Stetson Bennett and journeyman Matt Barkley. To put that number into perspective, the worst number any QB posted in 2022 was Taylor Heinicke's 6.3%. That number is likely partially just a result of a small sample size, but I do expect things to be ugly at times early on for the fourth-overall pick.
Luckily, the Colts have superstar RB Jonathan Taylor for their rookie QB to lean on ... never mind. With Taylor on the PUP list and Zack Moss recovering from a broken arm, Deon Jackson is expected to start for the Colts, and he isn't exactly someone to scare you off the Jaguars' defense. This is another matchup in which I expect one team to get out early and the other to be forced to play catch-up, leaving plenty of opportunities for the Jacksonville defense to rack up points. They're rostered in just 37% of leagues, but I have them as a top-five defense this week.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers
This one is not for the faint of heart, but it may be the most useful to those of you in deeper leagues, as the Falcons are only 11% rostered. While they were one of the league's worst defenses in 2022, a home matchup against a rookie QB in his debut is always enticing, and there's more to like about this matchup than just that.
The Panthers also have the third-lowest implied total of Week 1 with just 18 points. This may be in part because these two teams project to be two of the slowest in the league after finishing 2022 dead last and 27th in plays ran. While this does lower the ceiling slightly for the Falcons' defense, it certainly increases their floor.
Once again, the Panthers lack for star talent at the skill positions, especially with their receiver room already very banged up. There is a chance that their only healthy receivers on Sunday are rookie Jonathan Mingo and Laviska Shenault. That's not exactly the support you want to give a rookie, even one as talented as Bryce Young, in his NFL debut. Hopefully, the Falcons are able to take advantage and keep the Panthers' yardage and points low, while potentially adding some sacks or turnovers along the way.
