Early Fantasy Football Defense Streamers for 2025: Winners of the Schedule Release
Sam Wallace breaks down the biggest winners at the defensive position from the NFL Schedule Release and what defenses set up as great early-season streamers in fantasy football.
The NFL has officially released the schedule for the upcoming season!
This means it's time to turn the page (for now) from dynasty leagues to a more redraft-centric approach. It might be early yet, but here are the top team defenses to stream during the early portions of next season.
Early 2025 D/ST Streamers Based on NFL Schedule Release
Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders made most of their noise on the offensive side of the ball last season. Jayden Daniels & Co. are primed to make another postseason run, especially with the addition of Deebo Samuel, who was acquired this offseason from the 49ers.
However, despite their defense coming in at No. 23 in a recent Bleacher Report article, the Commanders have the easiest opening month to the season of any team in the league.
Warren Sharp is back with his Strength of Schedule breakdown and here's what he has to say about Washington's opening month:
“No team has an easier start to the season than the Washington Commanders; only 1 opponent is expected to have a winning 2025 season.”
Home games against the Giants and Raiders, with a road game against the Falcons is as good of a three-in-four-game set as you could ask for. The Packers were a deceptively good defense last season, but we'll see how they fare in an early home matchup against a dual-threat QB.
Besides Jordan Love, the QBs that Washington will square off against include Russell Wilson, Geno Smith, and Michael Penix. That's not what you would necessarily call an offensive gauntlet.
The Commanders' opening schedule, coupled with their relatively average (at best) defense on paper, means they won't be highly drafted come this fall. That makes them the ideal target for a manager who wants to stream the position and get their season off to a strong start.
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Pittsburgh Steelers
This one might be a bit tougher to make happen on draft night because the name-brand value of the Steelers defense will likely push them up the board higher than they ought to be.
Even so, you can still draft this team with confidence and trot them out as your streaming option for the first several weeks of the season.
While the Commanders have the softest opening four weeks for a team defense, the Steelers have the easiest opening six weeks (which, to be fair, include a bye). They face just one team with a projected winning record in Weeks 1-6.
From Justin Fields to Sam Darnold, Drake Maye to J.J. McCarthy, there isn't much to be overly concerned about for the historically vaunted Steel Curtain.
Yes, a lot still has to play out over the summer and I expect each of the aforementioned QBs to have solid fantasy campaigns, but the Steelers don't get into their gauntlet until the second-half of the season.
As of this writing, the Steelers are still somehow inexplicably without a legitimate option at QB. Even so, it begs the question … is the NFL not-so-subtly easing Pittsburgh into the season in the hopes of allowing, say, Aaron Rodgers to stack up a few wins?
I'm not saying, but I'm just saying.
Regardless of my feelings on the inner workings of the machine that is the National Football League, I anticipate the Steelers being a bit more popular than the Commanders on draft night.
New England Patriots
Speaking of Maye, I expect the Patriots to be one of the most improved teams this upcoming season.
Another year of growth from their young QB and the installment of an incredibly gifted coach in Mike Vrabel and this team is going to be a tougher out than their end-of-season record might suggest.
That plays right into the hands of fantasy managers looking to lock up a streamable defense during the opening quarter of the season.
The Patriots fall right in behind the two above-mentioned teams in terms of easiest schedule from Weeks 1-4:
Three of their first four games are at home, and those matchups are against the Raiders, Steelers, and Panthers. Their lone road game comes against the Dolphins.
We already discussed the QBs for the Raiders & Steelers, and while I expect Bryce Young to be much-improved in Year 3, he's still a low-end QB2 at best right now. That leaves a road tilt against Tua Tagovailoa in Week 2.
Actually, looking beyond Week 4, the Patriots have a pretty decent season-long schedule, all things considered.
- Week 6 (Saints) - massive QB questions
- Week 7 (Titans) - rookie QB
- Week 8 (Browns) - massive QB questions
- Week 9 (Falcons) - Penix in Year 2
They also have two games against the Jets and a game against the Giants. The Patriots could very well end up as THE defensive steamer of the season, not just the opening four weeks.
Not that I normally recommend keeping tabs on team defense ADPs but, if you do, keep a casual eye on where the Patriots end up.
Arizona Cardinals
Wrapping up in the NFC West, the Arizona Cardinals boast an intriguing start to their season as Kyler Murray & Co. should have a chance to get off to a strong start.
- Week 1 - @ Saints
- Week 2 - vs. Panthers
- Week 3 - @ 49ers
- Week 4 - vs. Seahawks
- Week 5 - vs. Titans
- Week 6 - @ Colts
The 49ers are the only matchup that, on paper, has a top-end opposing QB in Brock Purdy. Even then, we'll have to wait and see what their offense looks like without some of their previous stars.
I'm assuming a strong bounceback year from both Murray and Marvin Harrison. Toss in Trey McBride and James Conner, and this team shouldn't have much trouble putting points on the board. Let's hope their defense can keep up their end of the bargain during the opening six weeks of the season.
The Cardinals did everything they could to bolster their defense this offseason. They brought in Josh Sweat, who racked up six tackles and 2.5 sacks against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. They also spent six of their seven draft picks on the defensive side of the ball.
There's a good chance this Arizona defense is markedly better right from the start. That alone makes them an enticing choice for managers looking to stream the position.
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