Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 4: Fantasy Tiers & Rankings

September 23, 2014

Matt Lib analyzes which defenses (DEF) to sit or start, and provides his Week 4 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL defenses. Starting the right defense in fantasy football can be a game changer.

For those of you fantasy football owners out there who are streaming defenses, RotoBaller has got you covered with around-the-league analysis of the Week 4 NFL matchups.  Week 4 is the first time this season fantasy managers have to deal with BYE weeks, so be sure to stay on top of the NFL matchups and defensive opponents.

This week a lot of the higher ranked fantasy football defenses are on BYE, meaning more managers will be scouring the waiver wire for a defensive stream. We’re here to give you the insight to help make your defense streaming decisions and Week 4 lineup decisions a bit easier. Some of these defenses may have good matchups, and be sleepers available on your league’s waiver wire, so make sure to take a look at your waiver wire options as well.

Teams that have BYE weeks in Week 4: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks

Week 4 Defenses: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1: Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans

Slim pickings here this week with five of my top seven defenses on BYE. If you have either the Carolina Panthers or Houston Texans, you'll probably be starting the better defense in your Week 4 battle. The Panthers find themselves matching up against Joe Flacco, Torrey Smith, Steve Smith and the offensively mediocre Ravens, while the Texans face EJ Manuel, Sammy Watkins, C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson and the still-not-so-threatening Bills' offense. Both of these tier 1 defenses have very nice matchups for Week 4, and are must starts.

Tier 2: New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers, Detroit Lions 

Not a whole lot to choose from here in Tier 2 either. We've got some better-than-average defenses with okay matchups, and one not-so-great defensive team against an even worse offensive opponent.

The Buffalo Bills take on the Texans in Houston. While the Texans look as though they have started to find their way offensively, Stephon Gilmore, Mario Williams, and Marcell Dareus have what it takes to contain Arian Foster and company. Currently only giving up 84 rushing yards per game, look for Buffalo to make Ryan Fitzpatrick beat them throwing the ball to Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins and Garrett Graham.

Any team starting against the Jaguars is a decent play defensively, and the San Diego Chargers defense is somewhat underrated as well. They've got talent throughout the lineup, including Eric Weddle, Kendall Reyes, Donald Butler, Melvin Ingram, Manti Te'o and the newly acquired Brandon Flowers. It looks like John Pagano may be starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together in the right order for San Diego.

Detroit finds themselves at Met Life stadium taking on the Jets. And while the Jets have looked better than I personally expected offensively, they're still figuring out their running back situation, and they only have one reliable receiver in Eric Decker who reaggravated his hamstring injury on Monday night against the Bears. Jeremy Kerley looked solid, but he's not a big threat week to week. Look for the Lions to build off of their impressive defensive performance in Week 3, where they of held the Packers to seven points. I would feel good about starting any of these tier 2 defenses in Week 4.

Tier 3: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco

It should be noted that many of the defenses in tier 3 are widely available on the waiver wire of many fantasy football leagues, and the Buccaneers are no different. Obviously it becomes more difficult to trust Tampa Bay after their Week 3 debacle, but there's no way Lovie Smith's defense is truly as bad as they played Thursday night in against the Falcons. And there's also no way the Steelers will put up 56 points. After the absolute drubbing the Buc's took last week, a lot of these guys will be playing for their starting jobs and will be playing with a hell of a lot more intensity than what they showed against Atlanta. Ironically, they also ended up with eleven fantasy points including a pick-six, one sack, and three fumble recoveries.

Miami has been better than expected defensively so far, giving up an average 324 yards per game. And while they've also given up 27.7 points per game through three games, they weren't playing against the Oakland Raiders those weeks. The Dolphins also have nine sacks and four fumble recoveries so far.

Indianapolis is up against the Tennessee Titans in Week Four. Jake Locker is a good matchup for the Colts defense, showing inconsistency with Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter and Delanie Walker. Indianapolis has the chance to show they can have a good defensive performance against someone other than the Jags. They're a bit underrated for fantasy purposes, but the Week One and Week Two matchups against the Broncos and Eagles didn't help their case either.

Atlanta will face off against the Vikings in week four, and while their defense has been mediocre at best, they have shown the ability to create turnovers. Oh yea, and they have the best return man ever to play the game in Devin Hester, as many leagues count special teams points and return yards for the team defense. The Vikings have not lived up to expectations thus far, and with Teddy Bridgewater making his first career start, along with being without Adrian Peterson, expect the offensive woes to continue while they are forced to rely on Matt Asiata, Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph.

Baltimore is at home facing the Carolina Panthers with a hindered Cam Newton, an injured Jonathan Stewart and a questionable DeAngelo Williams. The Ravens have the personnel to contain a dual-threat QB, although they haven't had the chance to prove that yet this year, and may not need to in Week Four if Cam isn't 100%. They are only giving up 90 yards rushing per game and have three sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries in their past two games. If they can contain Kelvin Benjamin, it will help their cause a lot.

San Francisco hosts the Chip Kelly led Philadelphia Eagles, with Nick Foles and high-flying receivers Jeremy Maclin, Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews. Philly has five giveaways through three games, and the Niners have five takeaways. Even with the injuries and suspensions San Francisco has faced defensively, they're only giving up 87 yards rushing per game, and have the ability to create turnovers as a team. It will be interesting to see what LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles can churn out in Week 4. This matchup isn't the most enticing, but with the Niners defense being drafted where it was, owners have to instill some faith if they don't have room to carry a second defense. All of these tier 3 defenses have a chance to put up good weeks, but also carry some risk for Week 4.

Tier 4: Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins

Tier four is where we start to get into the deeper league plays, as well as some desperation plays. While New England certainly hasn't looked like themselves offensively, their offense liable to go off any week. Tom Brady always has the ability to put up a big game, especially with numerous offensive weapons at his disposal like Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley and others. That coupled with the fact that Kansas City's defense hasn't been nearly as good as a lot people expected to be, and has endured several key injuries, I'll pass on the Chiefs for this week personally.

Pittsburgh finds themselves at Tampa Bay, taking on a Mike Glennon led Buccaneers team. This Tampa offense looked much more fluid with Glennon at the helm, and with the return of Doug Martin looking probable at this point too, it may spell a bit more trouble than some would expect for the Steelers defense. Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans and maybe even Bobby Rainey could see a bit more production with a new QB running the show. The Steelers did look good against Carolina in the Sunday night game of Week Three, but I expect a surprise offensive showing from an embarrassed Buccaneers organization.

Philadelphia takes on the 49ers away in San Francisco in Week Four. Phillly has one of the worst defenses in the league this season - and their one bright spot, their run defense, seems to have been exposed as well. Look for the Niners to continue to commit to the run with Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde, and further expose the Eagles run defense. Colin Kaepernick and Co. (Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Stevie Johnson and maybe even Vernon Davis) certainly have the ability to take advantage of the horrendous secondary when needed.

The Saints end up in Dallas for the Sunday night game, and while Tony Romo is turnover prone, the Scott Linehan led Cowboys offense has looked better the past six quarters. While this may be a high scoring affair, the Saints are probably my favorite play off the waiver wire if you're still looking for your defense down here in tier four. Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray are studs, but the Saints defense may show up strong.

Even if they are playing the Dolphins, do you want to trust Oakland's defense? Ryan Tannehill can still get the ball to Mike Wallace, Charles Clay, Brian Hartline - and Lamar Miller looked good in Week 3.

After a strong showing against the Chiefs in week one, the Titans' defense has been getting torn apart in recent weeks. I expect more of the same as they go up against Andrew Luck and the Colt's somehow effective two-headed mediocrity monster at running back. Trent Richardson has been plodding out yardage, and Ahmad Bradshaw has looked surprisingly explosive. Reggie Wayne is always making plays, and if T.Y. Hilton is healthy and playing it will make things even worse for the Titans.

Washington finds themselves at home against the New York football Giants, who looked surprisingly good against a strong Texans defense in Week Three. With Washington's defense being what it is, D'd rather take my chances elsewhere than against a Giants offense that can be dangerous when effective. Rashad Jennings is looking great, and Eli Manning has been able to get the ball a bit better recently to Victor Cruz and company. Be careful if you're planning to stream or start these tier 4 defenses.

Tier 5: Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants

That brings us to the bottom of the barrel in tier 5. These are teams I would only start as an absolute last resort. One of the worst defenses in the Cowboys takes on one of the most prolific offenses led by Drew Brees. Brees will likely be shredding Dallas all day, while getting the ball to Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, Brandin Cooks, Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson (among others). The New York Jets take on another high-scoring offense in the Lions in Week 4, and nobody ever wants to face Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Reggie Bush and Joique Bell. That is going to be a tough game for Gang Green's defense. The Packers and Bears square off in what should be divisional shoot-out. I would expect fireworks from Aaron Rodger, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and also Jay Cutley, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte. These are two defenses that I would not be looking to start in Week 4. The Jacksonville Jaguars take on Phillip Rivers and the Chargers, who have been playing very well. Minnesota faces off against Matt Ryan and his studly receivers (starting to see a trend here?) in Julio Jones and Roddy White (if healthy). And finally we get to the New York Giants, who matchup against the new look Redskins under Kirk Cousins, who passed the ball very effectively to Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson and Niles Paul. Stay away from these defense if at all possible in Week 4.

By the way, this is Matt Lib - RotoBaller (formerly known as Aroldis Spliff). Just thought I'd let you know that this is my new pen name. Good luck in Week 4 RotoBallers.