I get it, defenses are lame. Every year in almost every league I find myself streaming a defense and putting my defensive faith into the void.
Aside from the big dogs in Pittsburgh and San Francisco, it’s so much more worth it to stream weekly than to pay up in drafts. It’s frustrating to have to dig into weekly defensive ranks and checking your leagues to see if they’re available. That’s what this article will help relieve.
I’ll be highlighting my top projected defenses who are also below 50% ownership in ESPN leagues. I know ownership varies between host sites but ESPN has the highest amount of leagues, so I’m rolling with it.
My projections are based on Vegas odds, defensive and offensive player projections, starters and positional matchups! Let’s get started.
PHI Eagles – 44.7% ESPN Ownership
Opponent – @WAS
The Washington Football Team last season found themselves last in the league in offensive points scored, second-to-last in total yards and gave up the seventh-most sacks in the league. Combine those three and you have an offense that you’ll find yourself streaming defenses against.
Let’s be honest, the Washington Football Team was all over the place this offseason. I don’t think I need to hype up the Eagles defense much for this start, although the offseason addition of Darius Slay is something to watch.
LA Chargers – 39.2% ESPN Ownership
Opponent – @CIN
All eyes are on Cincinnati’s rookie QB Joe Burrow in his debut against the LA Chargers. Last season LA was fifth against passing yards,11th against passing TDs and allowed the second-fewest pass plays of 15 yards or more. Cincinnati begins the season with the 31st-ranked offensive line according to PFF, which allows Joey Bosa to find himself in the backfield plenty of times. Even with the unfortunate injury to Derwin James, I expect the Chargers defense to hold their own against the Bengals.
TEN Titans – 18.3% ESPN Ownership
Opponent – @DEN
The Tennessee Titans find themselves with a defense that could be good this season. The addition of Jadeveon Clowney, who says he’ll be ready to play week 1, makes this defensive line much scarier. They play a Denver offense led by Drew Lock who went 4-1 in his starting campaign with seven TDs and three interceptions but sits behind a mediocre offensive line. Things could get shaky on Monday Night Football.
DET Lions – 6.2% ESPN Ownership
Opponent – CHI
A bit of a homer pick but the numbers forced my hand. Detroit plays Chicago week 1 who decided to stick with Mitch Trubisky as their starting QB. Chicago found themselves ranked 29th last season in offensive points scored and total yards. I expect Detroit to maintain positive game flow which opens up the door to more sacks and turnovers.
Are you excited for week one?! We are. Let’s have some fun. Follow us on Twitter @FirstSeedSports!
