Another banger of a week for this article as four of the top five targets finished in the top-15, including New Orleans and Indianapolis finishing as numbers 1 and 2. “Pretty, pretty good,” as Larry David would say.
We’re not exactly re-inventing the wheel here. It’s our focus on exploiting mismatches along the offensive line and at quarterback. I hope you’re following along and playing the best plays. We don’t need to get cute with our defenses. Fantasy football is a simple game. Score more points than your opponent. So why try to be a hero? Find the Cam Wards and Jaxson Darts of the world and play the D/ST against them.
Week 6 only has a pair of teams on BYE, but they are solid streaming starters in Houston and Minnesota. No worries, we’ve got plenty of defenses to add and start, who will lead us to victory.
TEAMS ON BYE IN WEEK 6: HOU and MIN
Based on D/STs owned in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues
Drake’s Top 5 D/ST Targets for Week 6
- Green Bay Packers (GB 47%) vs CIN
- Indianapolis Colts (Ind, 49%) vs ARI
- Los Angeles Rams (LAR, 50%) @ BAL
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB, 9%) vs SF
- Las Vegas Raiders (LV, 3%) vs TEN
Higher-owned Options
Pittsburgh Steelers (Pit, 71%) vs CLE — There’s a chance the Steelers were dropped during their BYE week in your league. If so, they are a strong option in Week 6 against the Browns, who yield the third most points to D/ST’s on the season. Pittsburgh ranks second in QB pressure percentage (29.6%). Bonus: If you can add Pittsburgh this week, you can hold them for Week 7 against the lowly Bengals.
Seattle Seahawks (Sea, 63%) @ JAX — A top-3 overall fantasy D/ST is still fairly available across Yahoo leagues. Seattle is averaging 9.2 points per week and will battle a Jags offense that still doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of opposing defensive coordinators. Nobody will be looking to play Seattle after their -3.00 point performance against the Buccaneers. It’s not my favorite play, especially with Riq Woolen working through a concussion and Derrick Hall suffering an oblique injury.
Top Targets
Green Bay Packers (GB 47%) vs CIN — OK, let’s get to plays I’m actually excited about. The Packers are a fantastic real-life unit. For our purposes, they are meh. On the year, Green Bay isn’t even a top-25 scoring D/ST. But this week, they’ll get the Cousin Eddie of opposing quarterbacks, Jake freakin’ Browning. He truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Forget that jelly of the month nonsense. Browning tossed three interceptions in Week 5 that made UFL teams cross him off their invite list for next season. You get the picture, he’s awful. There’s word the Bengals could be looking at other options. Sticking with Browning is a worse idea than canceling Christmas bonuses. Green Bay, even with a BYE, ranks second in quarterback knockdowns and fourth in pressure percentage. I’m all in on the Pack forcing several turnovers, and I’m calling a defensive touchdown as well.
Indianapolis Colts (Ind, 49%) vs ARI — Writing up the Colts every week means they still aren’t owned enough. Let’s change that. This Colts D/ST has three double-digit performances through five weeks. Outside of a rough outing in Week 2 (a game they won vs Denver), Indy has secured at least three sacks in every matchup. Over the last two games, their opponent, Arizona, has allowed 11 and 9 fantasy points to D/STs. That includes nine sacks and five turnovers. So Arizona is trending in the direction of a team we’d like to target. Let’s do that this week with the upstart Colts.
Los Angeles Rams (LAR, 50%) @ BAL — This Ravens offense is a dumpster fire. Without Lamar Jackson, there is a less than zero chance of Baltimore moving the football consistently. Cooper Rush threw three interceptions while being sacked once vs Houston in Week 5. The Rams' defense is better than Houston’s for fantasy. We talk about not overthinking things. This is a prime example. I’d expect the Rams to be highly owned against a Ravens squad that mustered just 207 yards last week, 44 of them on the ground. If the Rams don’t finish as a top-5 unit, I’d be shocked.
Going Deeper
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB, 9%) vs SF — This call is going to surprise many, but I’m feeling the Bucs at home against Mac Jones and the beat-up 49ers. Last week against the Rams, we saw the Niners run 83 plays (including overtime). I don’t see the same success happening in the Tampa heat as Todd Bowles leads his top-5 blitz rate defense. San Francisco’s offensive line is still in shambles. The pressure of Tampa will cause Mac Jones fits. The Niners want to run to set up the pass. The only problem is that Tampa Bay ranks sixth-lowest in rushing yards per attempt (3.8). I like Tampa to slow the Niners' run game and force Jones into several turnovers.
Las Vegas Raiders (LV, 3%) vs TEN — You thought we’d get a week without streaming against Cam Ward? Well, we almost did. The Raiders' defense isn’t anything to write home about. It’s barely anything to write a blurb about. They are bottom-10 in pressures and sacks. Vegas has just four takeaways thus far. So why would we ever play them? Simple. The Titans give up the second-most points to D/STs. Ward has thrown an interception in three straight games. His offensive line has allowed 19 sacks through five games. It’s not a play I’m begging you to make, though. Vegas has scored negative D/ST points in two of its last three games. You might have better luck hitting blackjack on ten straight hands. If you believe in Lady Luck, then roll the dice on the Raiders at home this week.
Dallas Cowboys (DAL, 9%) @ CAR — Digging a little deeper, I’m feeling the Cowboys, because, well, look at the team on the opposing sideline. Carolina gives up the sixth most points to D/STs. Now, this Cowboys defense isn’t good at all. But Carolina hemorrhages points to defenses. In the prior two weeks, Carolina gave up seven and 11 points to D/STs. That’s not earth-shattering, but it’s not negative points. Dallas did just have five sacks a week ago. Sometimes we just have to play the best matchups and hope for the best. That’s what this game is — a bad offense against a mediocre defense that has some talent and can easily make a play.
Place Kickers
Higher-owned Options
Matt Prater (Buf, 34%) — Prater has multiple field goals in three of his five outings, and in two of them, he had three field goal conversions. Four of his ten field goals this year have been from the bonus range. Atlanta allowed four field goals in their last game. The Falcons have a tough defense and could be stingy in the red zone, so Prater may get two or three chances in this one.
Top Targets
Blake Grupe (NO, 1%) — In Week 5, Grupe nailed four of six field goal attempts. Both of his misses had enough length from 52 and 46 yards, but went wide. Grupe did convert a 53-yarder and now has a 50-yard or more conversion in back-to-back games. Grupe has multiple field goal outings in two of his three home games this year. Be leery of his opponent as the Patriots have not allowed more than two field goal conversions in any game this year and have given up zero field goals made in two of their last three outings.
Going Deeper
Andy Borregales (NE, 0%) — Borregales is coming off a three-field goal outing in Buffalo. It marked the third time in five games he had multiple field goals. Three of his seven field goals are from the bonus range. If there is a downside to Borregales, it would be his opponent. The Saints have allowed just one converted field goal in their last two games.
Tom Simons contributed the PK writeups.
