Did you survive the Week 2 injury storm? Below are RotoBaller's Week 3 defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream, start and target at the end of your 2016 drafts for Week 3 of the NFL and fantasy football season. Our tiered defense rankings are your guide to drafting defenses, making waiver wire pickups/adds to improve your lineups, and to decide which defenses to start, sit, target, avoid or stream for Week 3.

Starting the right defense every week can be a difference-maker, so we have broken out our defense rankings into tiers with analysis on each matchup. Some of these Week 3 defenses have good matchups and are not widely owned, representing fantasy scoring opportunities if they are available on your league's waiver wire for a Week 3 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 3, RotoBallers!

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out FantasyAces DFS contests for Week 3. New users that sign up on Fantasy Aces and make a $20 deposit will receive RotoBaller's full season NFL Premium Pass for free (including Premium DFS), normally a $59.99 value. Expert DFS research, sample lineups, matchup ratings and lots more!

 

Week 3 Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1 Defenses

1. Carolina Panthers (vs. MIN)
2. Seattle Seahawks (vs. SF)
3. Denver Broncos (@ CIN)
4. Arizona Cardinals (@ BUF)
5. Houston Texans (@ NE)

The Vikings offense hasn't been able to get anything going so far, particularly in the run game. Sam Bradford looked alright at times against the Packers on Sunday night, but Adrian Peterson has been utterly unproductive (and now may miss time with an injury). In a match on the road against the Panthers, give me Carolina every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

The Seattle defense has had a pretty easy schedule so far, playing at home against the Ryan Tannehill-led Dolphins and then traveling to take on Todd Gurley and the rest of Jeff Fisher's comically bad offense. The 49ers have been surprisingly competent against two top-caliber defenses, but I think the Seahawks take them to task here. Must-start.

You can't bank on the Broncos forcing two defensive touchdowns again, but with eight sacks in the first two games this DST is poised to be the top scorer at the position again. The only thing keeping the Broncos off the top of the heap is the fact that Andy Dalton seems locked in, especially after rediscovering Gio Bernard in Week 2.

 

Tier 2 Defenses

6. New England Patriots (vs. HOU)
7. Green Bay Packers (vs. DET)
8. New York Jets (@ KC)
9. Baltimore Ravens (@ JAX)

The Patriots should have a high floor in Week 3 against a Texans offense that is still trying to click. DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller are legitimate weapons, but Brock Osweiler only has a 3:3 TD-INT ratio through two games. There is no risk of a shutout, but the Patriots should keep their opponent under 25 points for the third straight week while adding on a couple sacks and a pair of turnovers.

The Ravens have a ton of upside against the Jaguars in Week 3, as that offense has not been able to keep it together. Blake Bortles has been sacked five times in two games, and he's also turned the ball over four times. With little to fear from the struggling Jacksonville ground game, the Ravens should be able to apply a ton of pressure to Blake Bortles.

 

Tier 3 Defenses

10. Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NYJ)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (vs. DEN)
12. Los Angeles Rams (@ TB)
13. Miami Dolphins (vs. CLE)
14. Minnesota Vikings (@ CAR)

The Dolphins are unusually high on this list due to the circumstances they'll likely be playing under. It looks like the injury Josh McCown sustained in the Browns' Week 2 loss to the Ravens is serious enough for him to at least be held out for Week 3, so it'll be unproven third-round rookie QB Cody Kessler under center. The Dolphins have notched five sacks through two games and they shut down the Seahawks for 55 minutes in Week 1, so I have faith that they'll be a great option for those streaming defenses.

The Rams bounced back from their Week 1 thrashing at the hands of the 49ers to completely shut down Russell Wilson and the rest of the Seahawks on Sunday. Jameis Winston followed up a Week 1 eruption with a complete dud against the Cardinals in Week 2 (four interceptions and a lost fumble), and the Rams front seven should give him plenty of trouble in Week 3.

 

Tier 4 Defenses

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (@ PHI)
16. Chicago Bears (@ DAL)
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. LA)
18. Oakland Raiders (@ TEN)

The Steelers yielded just 16 points in each of the first two weeks, and neither opponent was a push-over (Redskins and Bengals). I'm not buying Carson Wentz just yet as a legitimate fantasy threat, so I think the Steelers hold the Eagles under 24 points. If they can get any modicum of pressure on the rookie, this DST should have a very nice fantasy day.

So much for the Raiders being the sleeper DST of the year. They've been absolutely throttled twice in a row now, but both poor performances came at the hands of high-flying air attacks. Their Week 3 opponent, the Titans, are not that. DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry could make life difficult, but I'm banking on the Raiders being a solid option for those in deeper leagues looking for a streamer.

 

Tier 5 Defenses

19. Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. BAL)
20. Philadelphia Eagles (vs. PIT)
21. Dallas Cowboys (vs. CHI)
22. San Diego Chargers (@ IND)

 

Tier 6 Defenses

23. San Francisco 49ers (@ SEA)
24. Detroit Lions (@ GB)
25. Cleveland Browns (@ MIA)

 

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