Welcome to the 2024 season! Survivor pools are in shambles, the #1 overall draft pick is already out, and we are so back! So you weren’t one of the managers to take the 49ers as the first defense off the board in a much earlier round? Well, let us look forward to Week 2 and see who we can come up with to stream to get the win. As the Bengals proved last week, there is no such thing as a sure thing in the NFL. But we will try our best to look ahead and see if we can find some teams that are rostered in around 50 percent of leagues or fewer.
Please note: there’s a decent chance that better defenses above this 50 percent threshold are available in your league, but we can’t assume they’re out there for everyone. We have to draw the proverbial line somewhere, so stay active and monitor the league home page; someone might drop a desirable defense after waivers clear.
Los Angeles Chargers
Opponent: @ Carolina Panthers
ESPN % Rostered: 11%
Yahoo % Rostered: 14%
Hot off their first win to start the Harbaugh era, we’re looking at a Chargers defense that generated three turnovers and four sacks in a Week 1 victory. They held the Raiders to 10 points and under 300 offensive yards at home. Led by Khalil Mack and his 1.5 sacks on the day, Los Angeles was the least penalized defense last weekend and the only team to give up just a single rushing first down. They now travel across the country to play Bryce Young who started the season where he left off last year after his first drive of the 2024 season ended in an interception. The Saints laid out a blueprint on how to disrupt the Panthers’ offense, holding them to under 200 yards and generating three turnovers all while adding four sacks of their own. I am not expecting quite the beatdown their NFC South rival delivered as the Chargers are a west coast team traveling east for the early game, but given what we have seen from the Panthers so far, I am looking to Los Angeles as a nice team to start in Week 2 as well as a potential hold while we see how their Week 3 opponent (Steelers) do.
Indianapolis Colts
Opponent: @ Green Bay Packers
ESPN % Rostered: 4%
Yahoo % Rostered: 8%
The theme this week is targeting defenses that will face teams with some volatility at quarterback. With Jordan Love set to miss some time, the Packers appear to be priming Malik Willis to start. Despite getting shredded on offense in total yards through both ground and air games last week against a stout Texans offense, they still managed to put up four sacks and blocked a punt on special teams. Digging into the numbers, Indianapolis registered four tackles for loss and 10 QB hits. They led the league last week in QB pressure rate on their staggering amount of QB hurries against Houston. This is the kind of pressure we’re hoping for when facing the backup quarterback of Green Bay. Look for turnovers and mistakes to be capitalized on if all goes well with this defense. This is also a potential hold as the Colts will face Chicago next week so it will bear monitoring (I’m not sorry) to see how they perform this week.
Houston Texans
Opponent: vs. Chicago Bears
ESPN % Rostered: 15%
Yahoo % Rostered: 51%
Houston had their hands full last week against the return of Anthony Richardson. They registered an interception and two sacks on the day while surrendering over 300 yards of offense to the Colts last week. I still am a fan of the offseason changes to this defense including the signing of Danielle Hunter. While Hunter had a quiet first game as a Texan, I think better days are ahead, as they now host Chicago on Sunday Night Football. It’s quite a sight to behold when a team can hold their opponent to under 150 total yards and zero touchdowns on offense and still manage to lose the game. It kind of makes you drop to your knees when you stop to think about it. Head coach Brian Callahan said, “…if we had just punted on 1st and 10 every time, we might have won the game”. Not to poke too much fun at the Titans, but that’s the kind of offense I’d like to stream a defense against. Caleb Williams averaged about 3 yards per pass attempt and completed under 50% of his passes last week. I will be very interested to see how this Texans defense will handle the rookie QB.
Honorable Mentions
Jacksonville Jaguars (E:32% Y!:4%) – On paper, this should be a good opportunity for the Jags. However, last year against the Browns, Trevor Lawrence did his defense zero favors with multiple turnovers and a poor performance, giving the ball back repeatedly. This time might be much better for Jacksonville.
Seattle Seahawks (E:55% Y!:43%) – You cannot stop Jacoby Brissett, you can only hope to contain him. Will the Seahawks do what the Bengals were supposed to do?
Washington Commanders (E:1% Y!:1%) – Not for the faint of heart. Last year when that stoppable force met this movable object, it got ugly real quick. However, the Giants offense looks even uglier than last year to start the season.
If you see something I don’t leave a comment or hit me up with feedback @MikeoftheFF on Twitter or find me on Reddit!
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire