“Maybe the season. The colors change in the valley skies. Dear God, I've sealed my fate. Running through Hell, Heaven can wait. Long road to ruin there in your eyes under the cold streetlights. No tomorrow, no dead end in sight.”
- “Long Road to Ruin,” Foo Fighters
We’re streaming our way through the fantasy season, and we’ve come to a crossroads. There are decisions to be made that could impact you the rest of the way. This might be the most important choice you make in your entire life! OK, that’s a lie, but it’s fun to be right, and we ultimately want to kick our friend's asses in this fake football game.
So the Minnesota Vikings head into their Week 6 bye as the number one DST in fantasy. DO NOT DROP THEM. I’m typically not someone who wants to hold a DST through a bye, but when you have an elite option, you make exceptions. Coming off the bye, the Vikings have an insane schedule:
vs DET, @ LAR, vs IND, @ JAX, @ TEN. There’s no way you want to lose them now. I get that this could require some hard roster management decisions, but there isn’t another you’ll pick up that has a double-digit floor.
WEEK 6 BYES: Chiefs, Dolphins, Rams, Vikings
(We like to suggest DSTs owned in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues)
Drake’s Top 5 DST Adds
- Philadelphia (38%) vs CLE
- Houston (43%) @ NE
- Tampa Bay (10%) @ NO (Pending Derek Carr injury news)
- Atlanta (6%) @ CAR
- Indianapolis (17%) @ TEN
Higher-owned Options
Check your waiver wires for Denver and Chicago, which have plus matchups but are just outside of our 50% threshold. I would add and start either of those options this week.
Top Adds of the Week
Philadelphia Eagles (PHI, 38%) — The bye came at a perfect time for Philly. Their offense was ravaged by injury, and the defense needed to catch its breath after being gashed by Tampa Bay to the tune of 445 total yards. The best medicine for an ailing defense is Deshaun Watson and this Swiss cheese offensive line. Last week, Cleveland allowed Watson to be sacked seven times. When he wasn’t getting planted in the dirt, he threw for a pathetic 125 yards. This is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Eagles, who rank second to last in sacks with just 6. Readily available in most leagues, they are plug-and-play options on Sunday and in Week 7 when the Eagles travel to MetLife to battle the Giants. If the Birds can’t get it done against these two offenses, just fire everyone and start over.
Houston Texans (HOU, 43%) — My goodness the Patriots are a trainwreck. Backups are playing all across the offensive line. Good Luck to rookie Drake Maye in his first start, as he’s headed for a beatdown thanks to the Texans' pass rush. Last week, Houston made Josh Allen’s life miserable. It led to his worst day as a pro passer (30% completion), with no receiver gaining over 50 yards. Enter a Pats offense that has less firepower than a bag of water balloons. Houston should have no problem racking up sacks (NE has allowed 15 in three games) and creating turnovers (NE has four in the last three games). This is my five-star pick of the week. I just made that up, but it sounds official, so we’ll go with it.
The Next Best Things
Tampa Bay Buccanners (TB, 10%) — If the Bucs get to line up against Jake Haener for an entire game, this becomes my top add of the week. There is zero chance the Saints will move the ball against Todd Bowles’ defense with that kid under center. Haener played the majority of his college ball at Fresno State, where he was an immobile pocket passer (-96 career rushing yards). He’ll wish he was back in college when he sees the exotic blitzes Tampa Bay will throw at him on Sunday. I don’t need to give you any advanced metrics here. It’s an in-over-his-head rookie playing in his first NFL start. If Derek Carr can’t return for this one, run to your computer and add Tampa. If you’re someone who has a phone in their pocket, and I’ve got a hunch you might, just pull your phone out and click the Bucs. No running is required. Oh, if Carr does play, I’m still in on the Bucs, as they have ten sacks in the past two weeks, and Carr is back to his deer-in-the-headlights style of QB play.
Indianapolis Colts (IND, 17%) — Bawh Gawd, that’s Will Levis’s music! Early this week, word broke that Levis could start for the Titans on Sunday. DST streamers, our king has returned. Remember back to Levis’s incredible first three starts, where opposing DSTs scored 24, 11, and 24 points thanks to his antics. Now Indy kinda stinks; I’m not going to mince words. But heck, Joe Dolan, Tom Brolley, and I could each have a sack and collect a turnover if we played against Levis. The Colts do have three games this season with four sacks so I know they can get to Levis. All he needs is that slightest window and bam, and he’s throwing a behind-the-back, eyes closed, left-handed lateral that’s going the other way for six. I can’t wait to watch this disaster.
Atlanta Falcons (ATL, 6%) — It’s October, and Andy Dalton has turned back into a pumpkin. The bloom is already off the ginger rose in Charlotte as the Panthers were mauled by the Bears Sunday, allowing four sacks and turning it over three times. The Falcons are the luckiest team in the NFL. They legitimately could be 0-5 but instead at 3-2. Luck is the residue of preparation, and this DST has tons of playmakers ready to pounce. While Atlanta isn’t the best DST I’ll ever promote, they are opportunistic. It seems that the best fumble-forcing safety in the league, Jessie Bates, is punching one free weekly. The Falcons have forced at least one turnover in every game since Week 2. If other options are on the wire, go there first.
