It’s hard to imagine a more volatile Week One, given the lack of preseason and information heading into the first real football we’ve seen in seven years.
OK, but it FEELS like seven years.
Last week, most of the best matchups fell to highly-owned defenses (streamers tend to draft DSTs with Week One in mind). But we still found some value, as the Chargers D came through for us (13 PA, 295 Yards, 3 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR), and the Packers held their own (34 PA, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 Safety).
Let’s dive into this week’s streaming options. As always, we’re looking for under 50% rostered in Yahoo! leagues.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Car, 24%)
While this team has had playmakers upfront (Shaq Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, and Jason Pierre-Paul) and in the box (Lavonte David and Devin White), they’ve added some talent on the back end that will help them do some serious damage. That, and removing Jameis Winston from putting them in bad positions for the last few seasons. Even with that, the Bucs finished as a top-10 unit last season, with 47 sacks, 12 INTs, and 16 FR.
This season they opened with a brutal matchup against the Saints in New Orleans and held Drew Brees and co. to 28 PA. This week, the waters are calmer. Tampa Bay plays at home against a Panthers team who lost at home to the Raiders and was held to just 15 points through three quarters. With Tom Brady and the Bucs a 9-point favorite at home, this aggressive defense will get its share of opportunities to bring it to Teddy Bridgewater.
Seattle Seahawks (NE, 30%)
The Seahawks saw their once-dominant defense fall apart last season. Their secondary was vulnerable and they were often exposed over the middle. With the maturation of slot corner Marquise Blair, the trade for CB Quinton Dunbar, and the blockbuster deal for playmaking do-it-all safety Jamal Adams, things are looking up for Seattle. Taking on the Falcons in Atlanta, this re-tooled D held Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Calvin Ridley to just 18 points, posting 2 sacks, an INT, and a fumble recovery before a garbage-time TD cut into the ‘Hawks 20-point lead.
At home this week, they’ll face a Patriots team with far fewer weapons, and who managed just 21 points against a turnover-prone Ryan Fitzpatrick in Foxboro. It might seem unusual to pick up a defense against the Patriots, but hey, it’s 2020.
Washington Football Team (@ Ari, 4%)
It’s impossible to ignore 8 sacks. Even against a bad O-line, 8 sacks is impressive. And while Philly’s line is a little banged up, this was no pushover offense. Washington boasts one of the best D-line rotations in the game. This was already a strong D-line last season, finishing in the top 10 in sacks. Then they added 2nd overall pick Chase Young, who gave the business to this Philly O-line. Young posted 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble, also contributing to one of Carson Wentz’s INTs. And while Kyler Murray and the Air Raid offense in Arizona can spread out a defense with the best of them, the six high-end pass rushers from the Nation’s capital are likely to be in Murray’s faceguard for much of the game. We like Washington this week in leagues that favor sacks and turnovers instead of points and yards allowed, but if you drafted a defense like Houston (vs. Bal) or the Chargers (vs. KC), this could be a better option.
