Starting the same D/ST every week is one of the worst moves a fantasy owner can make. It’s much safer to bet against a bad offense than it is to bet on a good defense. The notion of a ‘great’ D/ST is flawed; you can get top-level production by streaming defenses based on matchups. Check out this column every week to find out which D/STs you can and should pick up off of the waiver wire.
The Rules: Each week, I’ll highlight three easily-acquired D/ST’s that are worthy of a start in 12-team formats. The D/STs that I pick must be owned in less than 40 percent of leagues so that each unit is likely available in your own league. To establish credibility over the course of the season, I’ll review how my picks from last week did.
Last Week’s Picks: In the fifth week of our “D/ST Wins Championships” column, we hit on two of our three picks for the fifth consecutive week. During Week 5, the column advised picking up either the Eagles, Steelers or Browns D/ST. In any size league, both the Eagles and the Steelers’ D/STs would also have been elite starts. The Eagles and the Steelers’ D/STs ranked second and fourth, respectively, in the league in Week 5. The Browns didn’t fare as well but weren’t atrocious. The Eagles D/ST put up a staggering 18 points in Week 5, keeping pace as the league’s top-scoring D/ST. Pittsburgh managed to hold the Blake Bortles-led Jaguars to just nine points, intercepting the young quarterback twice and scoring a touchdown.
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