Fantasy Football Week 3 D/ST Streamers

When it comes to fantasy football streamers, the defense/special teams position is always one to monitor. In fact, many owners opt to intentionally stream the position all season long, playing positive matchups over drafting a highly-regarded unit. For those looking to do just that starting in Week 3, this article will have some solid options for you. 

Read on for three D/ST fantasy football streamers that are worth consideration for Week 3. In some cases, one might still be able to claim these defenses off of waivers. In order to be included in the fantasy football defense streamers, all defenses must be owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues.

Week 3 Fantasy Football D/ST Streamers 

Arizona Cardinals at JAX (46.2%)

The Arizona Cardinals will likely be one of the highest-streamed defenses this week, as they face the Jaguars, who have looked like an absolute dumpster fire through two weeks. Rookie Trevor Lawrence has looked out-of-sorts, Urban Meyer seems like he doesn’t know how to coach at the NFL level, and their defense is horrible. It’s very likely the Cardinals go up big early on in this game, which could end up hurting the Cardinals defense due them playing more prevent and allowing for garbage time from the Jaguars offense but they have a strong enough defense to fluster Lawrence. 

The Jaguars’ offensive line will have a tough time blocking all the Cardinals pass-rush threats, which could lead to free points from sacks but the main attraction here is the turnover ratio. Lawrence has thrown five interceptions already and the Cardinals have sacked the opposing QB seven times through two games. Jacksonville will struggle against nearly every defense this year and I’d start Arizona this week with plenty of confidence, hoping for multiple turnovers and less than 14 points against. 

Carolina Panthers at HOU (46.8%)

The Panthers are the No. 1 ranked fantasy defense through two games and have allowed 21 combined points total to the Jets and Saints, yet they’re only rostered in less than half of ESPN leagues. Houston’s offense led by Tyrod Taylor has looked solid, but Taylor was placed on IR with a hamstring injury, opening the door for rookie Davis Mills as the starter on Thursday Night Football. Mills has the size and abilities to become a solid NFL QB, but on a short week against a solid defense, I can’t see him making too much noise. 

Carolina plays aggressively on defense and will likely apply a ton of pressure on Mills every play, which leads to mistakes. Mills started the second half after Taylor hurt his hamstring and threw for over 100 yards and one touchdown, but had an ugly interception in the process. Considering they’re the top-ranked fantasy football defense and only owned in 46 percent of leagues, Carolina will probably be the most popular streaming option here in Week 3.  

Las Vegas Raiders vs. MIA (12.1%)

Despite their low expectations entering the season, the Las Vegas Raiders have made some noise through two weeks, starting out 2-0. It’s mainly credited to Derek Carr’s stout play on offense, but here in Week 3 against Miami who just lost 35-0 to the Bills last week, their defense is worth the consideration to stream. Tua Tagovailoa sustained a rib injury last week and exited early and Jacoby Brissett came in as a replacement and didn’t look great. 

The Raiders have forced three turnovers in two games this far and haven’t necessarily held their opponents to low-point totals but could very well do that against a beat-up Miami offense, led by mediocre QBs. They faced two tough opponents in Baltimore and Pittsburgh and came out on top, so the morale is as high as it’s ever going to be entering this week against a team with very low morale. Las Vegas has low ownership and this’ll likely be one of the only weeks you can feel relatively safe starting their defense in fantasy as a low-profile streaming option.