Best DST Streaming Options For Week 18 Fantasy Football: Patriots, Buccaneers, Raiders

I'm happy to say that I finished off the fantasy football season (in most leagues) strong last week. The Jaguars, Texans, and Bears, were all top 10 options in all scoring formats, with the Jaguars and Texans in particular providing week-winning performances. The Rams were also solid, with the one big miss being the Seahawks, who couldn't stop Mason Rudolph from shining.

Of course, if you're reading this, you probably are in at least one league where Week 18 still counts. (If you're not in a league where this week matters and are still reading a column about streaming defenses, I can't help you). This week presents all sorts of special problems for fantasy football, but also potentially some opportunities to exploit teams that don't have much to play for. Let's get into it!

Sync your league with the Fantasy Assistant to get rankings, waiver help, trade suggestions, optimal lineups, and more. Not sure Who You Should Start? We can help. Utilize our fantasy football trade analyzer for trades.

Week 18 Fantasy Football Defense Streaming Options

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets

Let's finish this season how we've spent most of it: picking on the Jets. You know the drill by now. The Jets are bottom four in both yards and points per game, second in turnovers, and second in sacks. I'm sure Bill Belichick is licking his chops at what might be his last chance to pick on a flailing AFC East offense as the Patriots' Head Coach. The Patriots are available in nearly 80% of leagues and ranked as the DST6 by our projections. Our projections also give New England by far the lowest projected points against of the week at a measly 14.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers

Here's another team we've been picking on all year (poor Bryce Young). The Panthers are dead last in yards per game, second-to-last in points per game, and third in sacks. They rank near the middle of the league in turnovers, but I think that's just because they don't have the ball often enough to turn it over. The Buccaneers' defense isn't very good (there's a reason they are available in approximately 70% of leagues), but they racked up four sacks, one interception, and two forced fumbles while allowing just 282 total yards in their first matchup with Carolina. Our projections have them just behind the Patriots as the DST7 for this week, making them a very solid streaming option.

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Denver Broncos

The Raiders' defense came back to earth last week after three straight weeks of great fantasy output. They allowed 23 points to the Colts and, just as importantly, failed to produce a turnover while recording only one sack. That's a far cry from the 2.3 turnovers and 4.0 sacks they averaged in their three-game hot streak (not to mention the four defensive touchdowns). 

However, I think the Raiders will bounce back this week. While they and their Week 18 opponent, the Broncos, are both out of the playoffs, the vibes are much better in Vegas than in Denver right now. The Broncos have clearly given up on this season, benching Russell Wilson even when they were still technically in the playoff hunt in order to make sure they can cut him this offseason (yikes). In Wilson's place, Denver is starting former Raider Jarrett Stidham, who immediately established himself as the 14th-worst quarterback (according to PFF) to take over 30 dropbacks this season. On an admittedly small sample size of just eight pressured dropbacks, Stidham was sacked twice for a very troubling 25% pressure-to-sack ratio. On the larger sample size of his career, Stidham has a 4.3% interception rate (Mac Jones is the worst in the league this year at 3.5%). Rostered in just 33% of leagues, Maxx Crosby and Co. should take advantage of their former teammate this week.