We knew this week was coming, right, streamers? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is one of the two weeks all season where there are six teams on a bye. The Ravens, Rams, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and 49ers are all on vacation, leaving scraps available on waiver wires.
Fortunately, there are three defenses that are widely available in fantasy leagues who are in a good spot to finish as top-12 options this week. I want to start by saying that the Chiefs are a fantastic play in Week 8, but they were slightly over our 60-percent-owned threshold. If they’re available in your league, they would jump to the top of this list. But assuming that unit is gone, let’s take a look at which defenses you should consider adding for Week 8.
New York Jets (at Browns)
If you’ve been here before, you know that the Jets aren’t a bad defense. Well, okay, that’s not necessarily true. They aren’t bad against one-dimensional teams that only succeed at running the ball. And the Browns fall into that category. They rank bottom-10 in passing yards per game, and have their third-string quarterback in the concussion protocol. It’s possible that Cody Kessler will make it back for the game, but even his No. 1 target, Terrelle Pryor, is dealing with a hamstring injury. The Browns have been able to run the ball well this season — though most of their success came with left guard Joel Bitonio, who is now on IR — but they won’t find many holes against the Jets run-stopping unit. We have them graded as a top-seven team against the run, as they have allowed just 3.68 yards per carry on the season, and that is despite facing Jeremy Hill, LeSean McCoy, Spencer Ware, Christine Michael, Le’Veon Bell, David Johnson and Terrance West. The Browns, whether it’s Kessler, Kevin Hogan or a possibly returning Josh McCown, will be forced to throw the ball, and that should lead to multiple turnovers and sacks for the Jets defense.
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