Top Fantasy Football D/ST Rankings (Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6) - Defense Streamers and Starts (2025)

September 22, 2025

Joey's best fantasy football defense streamers and D/ST rankings for Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6 in 2025. NFL team defense streamers and starts based on strength of schedule.

Welcome, RotoBallers, to our fantasy football D/ST streamers and starts for Weeks 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the 2025 season. Every week of the fantasy football season, we will go through the best defensive streaming options that fantasy managers have to consider picking up weeks in advance. 

In the first two weeks, this article has recommended picking up defenses like the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers. Now, both of those defenses could be weekly set it and forget it options moving forward. Picking up the right defenses ahead of time could be the difference in getting that high-upside play for each week.

In this article, we will look at several defense targets for the next four weeks of the fantasy season (Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6). If you want our D/ST fantasy football draft rankings, be sure to check out that link. So, let's dive in and analyze the best defensive streamers and starts for the next four weeks.

D/ST Strength of Schedule: Weeks 3-6

This weekly series will focus on defenses fantasy managers should consider picking up for the coming weeks. The defenses on this list will take into account their defensive rank, sacks, pressure rate, turnovers, and opponents for the next four weeks. Planning out your defenses for Weeks 3-6 could save you a lot of headaches.

So, we will break down the best defensive streamers into four categories (Temporary, Part-Time, Recruit, and Fool's Gold) in this article below. You can see the description of each of those streamer types down below. Since this is a streamer D/ST article, we will only look at defenses that are rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues.

• “Temporary” Streamer: D/ST with a good matchup in Week 3
• “Part-Time” Streamer: D/ST with multiple nice matchups in a row
• “Recruit” Streamer: D/ST with an easy upcoming schedule that you pick up earlier to stash on your bench
• “Fool’s Gold” Streamer: D/ST that on paper looks like a good option, but should be avoided 

Week 3 D/ST Streamers

Green Bay Packers D/ST (Part-Time Streamer/Must-Add)

• Week 3 Opponent: Cleveland Browns
• ESPN Rostership: 44.8%
• Over-Under: 42.5 points
• Opponent’s Implied Total Points: 18

It is wild that the Green Bay Packers D/ST is still rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues. This might be the best defense in football right now. The Packers held two high-powered offenses, the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, to under 20 points in both of their games this season. In both contests, the Lions and Commanders didn't have any answers against that Green Bay defense.

The Packers totaled four sacks in each of their first two games, and we all know the impact that Micah Parsons has had in the early part of the season. Parsons has a 90.2 PFF pass rush grade, 10 pressures, 1 1/2 sacks, and a 25% pass rush win rate to begin his Green Bay career. Now, this defense will go up against the Browns this weekend. That makes this unit a smash start in Week 3.

ELITE DEFENSES 🔥

The Chargers join the Packers as the only teams that have yet to give up a first-half TD this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/DikSrmvIdV

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) September 16, 2025

Even though the Packers will play the Cowboys in Week 4 and have a bye week in Week 5, this defense needs to be rostered in every format. Green Bay's D/ST will be a must-start in Week 3 against the Browns and a must-start in Week 6 against the Bengals. So, pick up this unit now because this could very well be the last time this defense is available in your league.

Indianapolis Colts D/ST (Temporary Streamer)

• Week 3 Opponent: Tennessee Titans
• ESPN Rostership: 36.6%
• Over-Under: 43.5 points 
• Opponent’s Implied Total Points: 20

The Colts' defense has looked solid in the first two weeks under new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Although this unit didn't really produce much last week, this defense did make the Dolphins offense look silly back in Week 1. Indianapolis allowed just eight offensive points, sacked Tua Tagovailoa three times, and forced three turnovers in that contest.

As a result, fantasy managers should feel confident rolling with this defense in Week 3. The Colts will be going up against a Titans offense that has been all out of sorts through the first two weeks. Cam Ward has been sacked a league-high 11 times, and this Tennessee team has only scored one touchdown on the year so far.

#Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward on the message the Colts defense sent to the league in the Week 1 win:

"It's new sheriffs in town." pic.twitter.com/mQijRLpf5B

— WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) September 7, 2025

Following that Week 3 game, this defense could be used again in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders' offensive line is certainly a work in progress after it ranked in the bottom 10 in both pressure rate allowed and pass block win rate back in Week 1.

Kansas City Chiefs D/ST (Temporary/Part-Time Streamer)

• Week 3 Opponent: New York Giants
• ESPN Rostership: 12.4%
• Over-Under: 44.5 points 
• Opponent’s Implied Total Points: 20

Some fantasy managers might look past the Chiefs' defense this week because of how this defense has played in the first two games and how Russell Wilson looked last week against the Cowboys. Kansas City has allowed at least 20 points in back-to-back games and has yet to force a turnover. However, this D/ST could be in for a nice bounce-back performance this weekend.

Even though the Giants did a nice job against the Cowboys' pass rush last week, this offensive line didn't go up against pass rushers like Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. Therefore, the Kansas City defense is a top-7 play in fantasy for Week 3. New York could be without top tackle Andrew Thomas (foot) once again, and this offensive line struggled back in Week 1 without him.

Russ is PICKED in OT!

NYGvsDAL on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/jF5dIj4BeF

— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025

Unfortunately, the Chiefs might not be a good start for your fantasy team after this matchup against the Giants. This unit will play the Ravens (Week 4), Jaguars (Week 5), and Lions (Week 6) over the next three weeks. You could potentially play this D/ST against the Jaguars in Week 5, but that offensive line has only allowed one sack through two games.

Las Vegas Raiders D/ST (Part-Time/Recruit Streamer)

• Week 3 Opponent: Washington Commanders
• ESPN Rostership: 0.9%
• Over-Under: 44.5 points
• Opponent’s Implied Total Points: 24

We should put more respect on this Raiders defense moving forward. This defense played well in Week 1 against the Patriots and held its own against the Chargers in Week 2. Las Vegas totaled four sacks and forced one turnover versus New England a few weeks ago, while adding to its sack total last week.

Now, the Raiders D/ST has a generous fantasy schedule upcoming. This defense will play the Washington Commanders in Week 3 without possibly Jayden Daniels, the Bears in Week 4, and the Titans in Week 6. While you certainly won't play this Las Vegas defense this week if Daniels plays, this D/ST could be worth a look if the star quarterback is out.

After that, the Raiders could be solid starts in both Week 4 and Week 6. The Bears or Titans haven't shown much offensively to shy away from Las Vegas in either of those matchups. Caleb Williams has been sacked six times, and Ward has been sacked 11 times through two weeks. That's fantastic news for a Las Vegas defense that has a 51% pass rush win rate.

Recruit Streamers

If you have Week 3 already figured out, let's look ahead at some defensive options that you could start in Week 4:

• San Francisco 49ers (50% rostership) - Week 4 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars
• Los Angeles Chargers (7% rostership) - Week 4 opponent: New York Giants
• Atlanta Falcons (1.2% rostership) - Week 4 opponent: Washington Commanders (if Daniels is out)

Fool’s Gold Streamers

Cincinnati Bengals D/ST at Minnesota Vikings

• Week 3 Opponent: Minnesota Vikings
• ESPN Rostership: 2.1%

Fantasy managers could be eyeing the Bengals' defense this week with the news that J.J. McCarthy will miss this week's game due to an ankle injury. The Vikings' offensive line really struggled to protect McCarthy last week, as he got pressured on 53% of his dropbacks in Week 2. That could be why some managers want to pick up this Cincinnati defense for this week.

However, it's best to leave them on the waiver wire. Carson Wentz is a veteran backup quarterback, and this Vikings offense should be able to score some points in this game. Given that the Bengals have only accumulated three sacks through the first two weeks, the Vikings' offensive line should be better than it was a week ago.

The Bengals aren't very talented on this side of the ball, and they will be without first-round pick Shemar Stewart, who left last week's game early due to an ankle injury. Therefore, there are a handful of other defenses that fantasy managers should stream instead of Cincinnati for Week 3. This unit has a really low fantasy floor each week.

D/ST Streaming Action Plan

Planning out your fantasy D/ST might require some work, but it might be necessary to target the best matchups every single week. Here is how I would line up my defensive streams across the first four weeks.

• Week 3: Stream the Packers versus the Browns
• Week 4: Stream the Chargers versus the Giants
• Week 5: Stream the Giants versus the Saints
• Week 6: Stream the Packers versus the Bengals

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