Fantasy Defense Streamers and Rankings Week 1: Targets Include Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, and Others

There are a couple of different ways to approach defenses when it comes to fantasy football. One is to draft a star-studded unit and bank on them week-in and week-out, and the other is to stream them weekly. Streaming defenses allows you to identify the best matchups each week and then add them to your roster.

Let’s take a look at the top DST streaming options for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.

Week 1 Streamers: QB | TE | K

Top DST Streamers for Week 1

Seattle Seahawks (vs. Denver Broncos)

This is easily the best matchup of Week 1 for a DST to stream. The Seattle Seahawks are at home with a defensive-minded head coach against the offense that many project to be the worst in the NFL this season. What is there not to like?

The Denver Broncos team total for Week 1 is just 17.5, and the Seahawks are six-point favorites. The sportsbooks are expecting this to be a low-scoring game — a great starting point to target a DST for streaming.

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We saw the Denver offense look fairly competent in the preseason, but that should not scare you because it was playing second- and third-string units in many of those scenarios. Seattle should be able to keep this group quiet, and rookie QB Bo Nix could be a turnover candidate in his first NFL regular-season action.

The other beauty here is that the Seahawks face the New England Patriots next week, meaning they could give you two weeks of solid production before you have to look elsewhere.

Cincinnati Bengals (vs. New England Patriots)

The Cincinnati Bengals are rostered in around 65% of leagues on ESPN, so this is not a play that everyone can make. But if they are available, this is the week to snap them up.

Have you seen the Patriots offense this season? They have Jacoby Brissett at quarterback and a lot of young, unproven players at wide receiver. By no means am I saying this offense cannot be something down the line, but in Week 1, with a new head coach, and a veteran who we know fairly well, they are unlikely to open it up.

The downside for the Bengals could be a lack of turnover potential. If New England plays the game tight and keeps it on the ground, it may limit potential mistakes. If Drake Maye were starting here as a rookie in Week 1, this would be a slam dunk, but they sit behind the Seahawks in my streamer options this week.

Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Las Vegas Raiders)

Picking the Los Angeles Chargers is a bit of a risk because I do not foresee the Las Vegas Raiders offense being the disaster that many others do. However, I am backing the game plan of Jim Harbaugh, who has generally presided over strong defenses, to make the Chargers a tough unit to score against.

Additionally, with Greg Roman as his offensive coordinator, I project Los Angeles to run the ball a lot and grind down the clock. This game could have the lowest possession count of any game this weekend, making it a solid spot to stream DSTs in.

The current line on this game is 40.5 at the sportsbooks, with both sides expected to be in that 15-25-point region. The Chargers are not my top choice for a streamer, but they are a good unit to target in deeper leagues.

Defense Rankings for Week 1

1) Cincinnati Bengals
2) New Orleans Saints
3) San Francisco 49ers
4) Dallas Cowboys
5) Chicago Bears
6) Seattle Seahawks
7) Cleveland Browns
8) Pittsburgh Steelers
9) New York Jets
10) Los Angeles Chargers
11) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12) Minnesota Vikings
13) Kansas City Chiefs
14) Philadelphia Eagles
15) Buffalo Bills
16) Baltimore Ravens
17) New York Giants
18) Atlanta Falcons,
19) Houston Texans
20) Detroit Lions
21) Tennessee Titans
22) Denver Broncos
23) Las Vegas Raiders
24) Miami Dolphins
25) Carolina Panthers
26) Washington Commanders
27) Green Bay Packers
28) Jacksonville Jaguars
29) Arizona Cardinals
30) Indianapolis Colts
31) Los Angeles Rams
32) New England Patriots