Best DST Streaming Options For Week 13 Fantasy Football: Falcons, Jaguars, Buccaneers
Ted takes a look at the top streaming defense options for Week 13's fantasy football slate.
As always, here's a quick review of last week's picks: My two main options, the Patriots and Broncos, both did great. However, the rapid-fire options were a mixed bag, with the Giants doing well, the Titans doing just okay, and the Bengals falling victim to the new-look Steelers' offense.
Despite a lot of byes, this week sets up as a streamer's paradise. Six of the top 12 options in our Week 13 Projections are rostered in under 40% of leagues, with many coming in under 20%. However, this does mean there will be more competition than usual for the top options, as some highly rostered defenses find themselves either on bye or in tough matchups. Make sure to always have multiple waiver claims in case you don't get your top choice. Without further ado, let's do this!
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Week 13 Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Jets
Tim Boyle might legitimately be worse than Zach Wilson. In his limited action so far this season, he has a much higher interception rate (5.8%), a higher pressure-to-sack ratio (33.3%), and fewer yards per attempt (4.1). Each of those numbers would also rank either dead last or second to last in the league if he reached minimum limits in attempts or dropbacks. Put him behind one of the league's worst pass-blocking units, and you've got a recipe for defensive fantasy success.
For their part, the Falcons haven't been great defensively, but they are solid. They are above-average in terms of points allowed, yards allowed, and yards per play allowed. Admittedly, only barely in the first two categories, and they are well below-average in terms of defensive DVOA ... but I still think they're plenty good enough to take advantage of this putrid Jets offense, which averages a laughable 260.2 yards per game. Rostered in just 16.5% of leagues, the Falcons rank seventh in our projections and are currently by far the hottest pickup of the week according to Predictive Analytics.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cincinnati Bengals
In his first week as the Bengals' starter, Jake Browning took four sacks, threw an interception, and fumbled once (although the Bengals recovered it). He posted a 9.1% Turnover Worthy Play Rate according to PFF — P.J. Walker is currently far and away the worst among qualified QBs at just 8.1%. It took not one but two Ja'Marr Chase receptions on tipped passes for the Bengals to even manage 222 yards and 10 points in Week 12.
?s=20While they haven't been lighting up the fantasy scoreboards, the Jaguars' defense actually ranks fifth on the season in DVOA. They have been bending, allowing the 13th-most yards per game, but not breaking, allowing the 12th-fewest points. I like the chances of the other Josh Allen and the rest of Jacksonville's unit to take advantage of this cake matchup and deliver a solid fantasy performance. Our projections agree, ranking them as the sixth-best unit headed into Week 13.
Rapid-Fire
Last week, I jumped to this section early because there weren't enough teams I felt confident in. This week, it's almost the opposite. As I mentioned in the intro, there are tons of low-owned teams with great matchups, all of which should provide decent fantasy production. Here are three more:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (21.8% Rostered) vs. Carolina Panthers: Firing Frank Reich won't fix the Panthers' problems. They have no playmakers, a terrible offensive line, and Bryce Young playing like one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. The Buccaneers are like their division-rival Jaguars in that they allow more yards than they do points, and our projections actually have them as the fifth-best defense this week.
- Los Angeles Chargers (18.9% Rostered) @ New England Patriots: The Chargers' defense is bad, this Patriots offense is worse. Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe, it doesn't matter — both rank in the top 10 in Turnover Worthy Play Rate and bottom 10 in yards per attempt.
- Los Angeles Rams (5.4% Rostered) @ Cleveland Browns: Remember earlier when I said that P.J. Walker was far and away the worst qualified QB in terms of Turnover Worthy Play Rate? Well, with Dorian Thompson-Robinson sidelined, the Browns will either be starting him or 38-year-old Joe Flacco fresh off the couch. Aaron Donald is probably licking his lips.
