Best DST Streaming Options For Week 5 Fantasy Football: Commanders, Lions, 49ers
Things could hardly have gone any better for my picks last week. The Buccaneers shut down Derek Carr and then picked off Jameis Winston, finishing with 15 fantasy points. The Broncos got surprisingly roasted by Justin Fields but were bailed out by a late touchdown to finish with a solid eight points. And my fade pick of the Steelers got absolutely lit up by rookie sensation C.J. Stroud and the Texans, finishing tied for the worst defensive performance of the week with negative six points.
This week, I'm writing earlier in the week so you have more options available to you and can target these defenses on your league's weekly waivers. Hopefully, this helps offset the reduction of options we are facing thanks to the beginning of the bye weeks. Let's get into it.
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Week 5 Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options
Washington Commanders vs. Chicago Bears
This is a no-brainer. As I just mentioned in the intro, even in by far their best performance of the season, the Bears still allowed the awful Broncos' defense to finish with a very solid eight fantasy points in Week 4. On the season, teams facing the Bears are averaging an incredible 13.25 fantasy points, as absolutely nothing is working smoothly for Justin Fields and Co. Even after their explosion this week, the Bears are below average in both points and yards, and they rank in the top five in both sacks allowed and turnovers.
At home, on a short week, I expect the Commanders to take advantage of this juicy matchup and post a solid outing. The numbers agree, as Washington is the top-ranked DST option in our Week 5 Projections. For now, they are currently rostered in just under 13% of leagues. However, our Fantasy Assistant predicts that they will see heavy interest on waivers this week, so that number will be much higher by tomorrow morning. The Bears' offense did show some life last week, and the Commanders aren't the league's best defense, so you don't have to invest too heavily in landing them, but they're a more-than-viable option to stream on Thursday night this week.
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Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers
It's a good week for streaming defenses when the top two defenses in our projections are both under 20% rostered. The Lions are even less popular than the Commanders, rostered in just 8% of the leagues coming off a Thursday night win against the Packers. The Lions' defense has a bad reputation left over from last year, in which they were one of the worst units in the league. But while they struggled to stop Geno Smith and the Seahawks in Week 2, Detroit is otherwise much improved defensively to start 2023. They rank fifth in defensive DVOA and have allowed the least rushing yards per game of any team in the league. They have also racked up 12 sacks over the last two weeks and are averaging 8.5 fantasy points per contest.
Making things better for Dan Campbell's group, they are at home this week against the Panthers, who have been one of the league's worst offenses. Carolina is averaging a putrid 4.2 yards per play, and that number gets even lower if you exclude Week 3, in which veteran Andy Dalton had a solid outing filling in for first-overall pick Bryce Young. That's not to say things are entirely Young's fault, as the Panthers' offensive line and receiving group are both easily among the worst in the league. But we don't care about assigning blame here; we just care about targeting a struggling offense starting a rookie passer who so far seems to be in over his head (no, that's not a short joke).
Fade: San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys
I don't want to fade my 49ers, but they're the second-highest-ranked defense this week according to FantasyPros' Consensus Rankings, and I simply can't agree with that. Yes, the 49ers have one of the league's most talented defenses, but they haven't been particularly productive to start the season despite a cake schedule. Given what we've seen through four weeks, solid outings against the abysmal Giants and Steelers aren't very impressive, and the 49ers' defense managed just a single fantasy point in Week 4 against Joshua Dobbs and the Cardinals.
More than anything else, this pick is about the matchup. The Cowboys will easily be the toughest test the 49ers have faced so far this season: They rank fourth in total points and are one of just three teams to have turned the ball over only once. To be fair, a lot of those total points have come on defensive scores, but the Cowboys' offense still ranks third in the league with an incredible 53.8% of their drives ending in scores. Given that the 49ers' offense has been firing on all cylinders, I expect the Cowboys to have to keep pace, making this game more of an offensive showdown than many are expecting given the defenses involved.
The 49ers do still have plenty of playmakers on the defensive end and could finish as one of the top fantasy units this week. But I wouldn't rank them in the top five and would easily rather have either of the teams listed above instead of them. If you have San Francisco on your fantasy team, consider benching them this week for a less-talented defense in an easier matchup.
