Week 7 DST Streamers: Ride With The Red-Hot Seahawks Defense
Jonathan Fuller breaks down his top two DST streamers rostered in fewer than 50% of leagues that he's targeting as streaming options in Week 7.
Last week brought a handful of big DST scores. Teams like the Rams, Broncos and Raiders delivered against easy matchups, while the Giants and Bucs also put up double-digit points in unexpected spots. From a streaming perspective, the Packers were a major letdown, scoring just two points against the Joe Flacco-led Bengals. The Patriots (five fantasy points) and Colts (four) were OK for your lineup, but they didn't perform as well as I thought they could.
Week 7 has just two teams on bye, the Ravens and Bills, so the competition to add a DST may be lighter than in other weeks. That is fortunate because it is a more difficult week than most for streaming defenses. Many of the worst offenses are matched up against the softest defenses, while a number of the strongest defenses have difficult matchups this week.
DST Streamers For Week 7 Fantasy Football
My philosophy on streaming defenses is based on the ability to create sacks and turnovers rather than minimizing points allowed to the other team, although those two things are correlated. I think this is one of the bigger mistakes fantasy managers make when thinking about fantasy defenses. As you will see in this article, I am generally focused on three things: offensive line play, QB turnover rates, and game script.
A poor offensive line matched up against a strong defense line is one of the best signs for a fantasy defense. Putting the opposing QB under pressure increases the likelihood of sacks, fumbles and interceptions. However, not all QBs are created equal, so we also want to target those who have a history of turning the ball over. Lastly, a defense on a team that is heavily favored is another good sign because it means the other team may be forced to call more pass plays as a result of a negative game script, and pass plays are more likely to lead to scoring opportunities for the defense than rush attempts are.
Before diving in, I want to give a quick mention to three teams that are just over the 50% rostered threshold. The Kansas City Chiefs (54% rostered), Minnesota Vikings (57% rostered) and New England Patriots (51% rostered) all just missed out on qualifying for this article, but are available in a lot of leagues and are all good streaming options.
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Seattle Seahawks - 49% rostered
The Seahawks are just under the threshold for inclusion in this article. Seattle has a good real-life defense and a favorable matchup at home against Houston in Week 7. After an impressive win on the road in Jacksonville, Seattle is looking more and more like a legit NFC contender. We'll see if Sam Darnold can do it in the playoffs, but they could be a force for the rest of the regular season.
On defense, Seattle is elite against the run. They rank third in rush EPA allowed per play and sixth in rushing success rate allowed. They also rank eighth in passing success rate allowed and fourth in pass rush win rate. Meanwhile, the Texans rank 29th in pass block win rate, so it is safe to say the battle in the trenches heavily favors Seattle.
I don't love that the Texans are coming off a bye week, but I doubt that was enough to fix their offensive line issues, which is the thesis of the play here. If Houston struggles to get the run going, we could be looking at a lot of C.J. Stroud dropbacks. In that scenario, I expect him to be under pressure on a regular basis, which should lead to sacks and opportunities for turnovers. Seattle is tied for second in both sacks (20) and interceptions (seven) so far this season.
I would still prefer to add Kansas City if they are available in your league, but Seattle is the best bet for teams that are available in more than half of fantasy leagues.
Jacksonville Jaguars - 24% rostered
The Jaguars turnover streak finally came to an end in Week 6. They had forced at least one turnover in every game this season, but came up blank against Sam Darnold and the Seahawks. Despite that, they still lead the league in interceptions and are only one off the lead in fumble recoveries.
In Week 7, the Jags will travel to London to take on the Rams. London games are often a defensive slugfest, but this setup in particular favors Jacksonville. The Rams are a West Coast team that just played on the road in Baltimore. They are electing to stay in Baltimore before traveling to London on Friday. This makes for a long trip, and while it does minimize their time zone changes, it does mean they will be on the road for more than a week before playing in London.
The Rams also didn't look great against Baltimore's terrible defense in Week 6. Over the course of the season, I expect Los Angeles to have a good offense, but it wouldn't be surprising if they have another dud in Week 7 across the pond. On the other side, Jacksonville has played in the most London games of any NFL franchise and is 3-1 in its last four appearances. While it is hard to quantify the benefit of that experience, it should be an advantage. They will likely also have a majority of the crowd on their side, giving them the closest thing possible to home-field advantage in a foreign country.
To make things more difficult, the Rams will also be without Puka Nacua after he suffered an ankle injury against the Ravens. Nacua has been the best WR in the NFL this season by a wide margin. The Rams still have Davante Adams, but Nacua's absence will be felt, and we will have to see what the offense looks like without him. It should be easier for the opposing defense to key on Adams, forcing the Rams to have to try to win in other ways. It is possible for Stafford to put the offense on his back, but Los Angeles doesn't have many proven playmakers
If Seattle and the other streaming options I mentioned in the intro aren't available in your league, Jacksonville is my "break glass in case of emergency" option.
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