Another week of working out which DST is best to slot into your roster this week as you swap them in and out, looking to take advantage of the best matchups. While I limit my articles to only include DST available in half of all leagues, six teams coming back off a bye week, and many good defenses too. Be sure to skim your waiver wire and see if a team like the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Jets slipped into the free agency pool last week and neglected to be added back since.
Week 8 oddly features the following teams on a bye: ………….
That’s it, that’s the list. Zero. Why? I’m not sure but I hope the artificial intelligence, scheduling geniuses, gurus, and any worldly or otherworldly voices who have a say in the NFL schedule know better than I do. As I mentioned earlier, all options listed below will be available in 50% or more Fantrax Leagues.
Week 8 DST Streamers
Tennessee Titans
The Titans are coming off a bye week so they’ve got extra time to prepare against the Falcons offense which is putting up the 4th fewest points per game this season. They are likely going to need their defense to perform at a high level this week (more on that in a bit). The Titans D this season has been better than fantasy numbers dictate. Their -1 performance against the Colts drags their numbers down a bit but they haven’t allowed more than 30 points in any game this year, they have three sacks in three out of five games this season. Turnovers have been few and far between with only three but if they can force Desmond Ridder to commit a few they can certainly deliver for fantasy owners.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons defense is coming off a strong performance against the Buccaneers in Week 7 and I think this is an even better fit for Atlanta this week. AJ Terrell matches up against DeAndre Hopkins while the Falcons can focus the rest of their defense against Derrick Henry. We might not even see Ryan Tannehill this week which means Malik Willis and/or Will Levis will be operating the Titans offense. All that leads me to believe the Falcon’s DST could be in for another strong performance in week 8.
New York Giants
The Giants were one of my best-performing picks a week ago and I’m riding them again this week too. I’m eagerly looking forward to Deontae Banks as he faces off with Garrett Wilson. In May he called the reigning OROY the best WR he’s ever faced. Don’t forget Kayvon Thibodeaux taking on Mekhi Becton, and the entire front seven of the Giants against the Jets ground attack. The Jets are coming off a bye week and have an extra week to install some looks the Giants haven’t seen but the Giants have been playing very high-level defense lately. Expect it to continue in the battle of New York.
Los Angeles Chargers
Last week Tyson Bagent shocked everyone by turning in a decent offensive output in his NFL debut. The Shepherd University product didn’t leap off the stat sheet but he put the Bears in a position to win. At the end of the day, that’s all you can ask out of your backup QB. So why am I praising Bagent if this article is supposed to be about why I like the Chargers? Well, I think there’s a good chance we don’t see lightning strike twice. The book of Bagent is out now and the lack of deep shots tells the tale. Expect the Chargers to load the box against the Bears and force Bagent to beat them deep. If he can, however, things could get interesting in Chicago and their QB situation.
Houston Texans
The Texans have surprised many this season on offense with how CJ Stroud has performed. However, in this article, it’s DeMeco Ryan’s defense that’s caught my eye. The Texans have forced seven turnovers and allowed 21 or fewer points in their last four games. It looks like a unit coming into its own facing a Carolina Panthers offense that has struggled this season. Everyone will be focused on the duel between the two top picks in April’s draft. I’m going to be looking at how Young performs against an underrated Texans DST.
Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty