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Kate Magdziuk shares her Week 1 defense rankings and highlights several streaming options that could be available in your leagues.
Welcome to Week 1 of the fantasy football season, NFL fans! You’ve been patient all offseason long, and to reward you, the fantasy overlords have provided you with a slate of some incredibly enticing matchups.
In case you didn’t draft one of the elite “set it and forget it” defenses (or even if you did), there are plenty of matchups to take full advantage of in Week 1. Here, we’ll take a look at a few top-five options for Week 1 to double-check for on your league’s waiver wire prior to kickoff, as well as their current rostership percentage in Yahoo! Fantasy leagues.
Week 1 defense streamers
Cincinnati Bengals D/ST vs. Patriots (57% rostered)
The Bengals defense is rostered in over 50% of fantasy football leagues, so they might not be considered a true “streamer” but given that they’re my top-projected D/ST on the week and aren’t rostered at 100%, they felt like an obligatory mention.
Last year, the New England Patriots were a top-three matchup to stream defenses against, and it’s no surprise why. This unit ranked bottom-three in the league with 4,696 scrimmage yards while tying with the Carolina Panthers for a league-low 236 points scored. Unfortunately, though they may have found their franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, they won’t be rolling with him to start the year, opting for more of a long-term approach of development and patience while they fix their offensive line and he takes time to learn under veteran Jacoby Brissett.
Patriots-Bengals is tied for the lowest point total of the week over on FanDuel Sportsbook at 40.5 points, with Cincinnati favored by 7.5 points. Last year, the Bengals tied for the fifth-most offensive turnovers forced (28) and interceptions caught (19) in the regular season, while ranking seventh in the league with 58 sacks.
Seattle Seahawks D/ST vs. Broncos (26%)
The Seattle Seahawks got a big-time makeover this offseason, moving on from HC Pete Caroll and hiring former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. Macdonald served as Baltimore’s DC from 2022-2023, and in those two years, the Ravens defense ranked as a top-five unit. Their -0.084 EPA per play against was the third-lowest in the league, while their 30.8% scoring drive allowed percentage was the lowest in the league.
Though the team had to deal with the installment of a new scheme, both offensively and defensively, they have plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball to force the Denver Broncos to make some mistakes. CBs Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen remain a high-upside tandem and added several others into the mix this offseason between first-round rookie DT Byron Murphy and free agents S Rayshawn Jenkins and LBs Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker.
It’ll be the first career outing for rookie quarterback Bo Nix, and even if he was relatively safe with the football in his time at Oregon, everyone knows things can change quickly making the jump into the National Football League. The Broncos have some strong options in the run game, but given the questionable depth at receiver, don’t be surprised if the Seahawks can make waves. Consider this unit a viable two-week streaming option, especially considering their Week 2 matchup against the aforementioned Patriots.
Los Angeles Chargers D/ST vs. Raiders (6%)
Welcome to Week 1’s battle of “Which team can run the ball more?!” Between Chargers’ new HC Jim Harbaugh and new Raiders HC Antonio Pierce, we can expect the theme of this matchup to be a ball-control-style of offense on both sides, with low play volume and some premiere pass rushers in the mix with Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa and Maxx Crosby chasing down the opponents.
Raiders-Chargers is a divisional matchup tied for the lowest over/under of the week at 40.5 points. Even if they aren’t a particularly exciting option, game script could make the Chargers a solid D/ST option to kick off the season.
Fantasy football: Week 1 defense rankings
Kate Magdziuk is an editor and contributor for Yahoo Fantasy and co-host of the Locked On Dynasty Football podcast. She is also the managing editor for Behind The Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s exclusive Pittsburgh Steelers blog. Her previous bylines include Pro Football Focus, NBC Sports Rotoworld and 4for4 Football, among others.
