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Matt's must-start fantasy football waiver wire defenses (D/ST) to stream and start for Week 5 of the 2025 season. His fantasy defense start 'em, sit 'em picks.
The 2025 fantasy football season is heading into Week 5, which means the introduction of bye weeks for the first time. Looking for help at the D/ST spot? Get these high-impact defenses on your roster now! RotoBaller analyst Matt Donnelly drops his fantasy football must-start defenses (D/ST) for Week 5 of the 2025 season.
With bye weeks now hitting, decisions are coming at a furious pace. We are here to help with your Week 5 D/ST streamers, to give you the tools needed to set those winning lineups.
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2025 Fantasy Football: Week 5 Defenses To Start (D/ST)
Matt Donnelly drops his top Defenses for Week 5 of the 2025 fantasy football season:
Thanks for listening to today's episode! Be sure to tune in throughout the week, and to also follow RotoBaller on Twitter, YouTube, Spotify and iTunes for the latest fantasy news and analysis.
Week 5 Fantasy Football Defense Outlooks
Roquan Smith, LB, Ravens
Baltimore Ravens All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring) was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Smith will miss a few weeks. The hits just keep on coming for Baltimore's banged-up defense. In addition to Smith, they also lost defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) for the season and cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf) for a couple of weeks.
The 28-year-old Smith suffered his hamstring injury in the second quarter of the Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. If he lands on Injured Reserve, Smith would be forced to miss at least four games. In IDP fantasy formats, Smith deserves to be stashed.
The three-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro had 34 tackles (24 solo) and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown in four games to begin the year. Both Trenton Simpson and Jake Hummel will see increased snaps at linebacker now for a Ravens defense/special teams unit that can no longer be trusted in fantasy.
Nick Bosa, DL, 49ers
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch noted on Friday that edge rusher Nick Bosa (knee) will undergo a procedure to repair his torn ACL. Reportedly, the 27-year-old will again have his surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who handled the procedure on his left knee in 2020, as well as some of his teammates'.
According to the team, the injury involves only Bosa's ACL, so it will be a less complicated surgery (and rehab) than that of his teammate Brandon Aiyuk's (knee). Regardless, the seventh-year pro will now begin the long road to recovery, and, likely, we don't see him until around the same time next season.
Teammate Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) figures to rotate in behind Bryce Huff and Mykel Williams for the time being, as long as he's active.
Week 5 D/ST Rankings
| D/ST Tier | D/ST Rank | D/ST Name | Position |
| 1 | 1 | Arizona Cardinals | DST |
| 1 | 2 | Detroit Lions | DST |
| 1 | 3 | Minnesota Vikings | DST |
| 1 | 4 | Cleveland Browns | DST |
| 2 | 5 | Seattle Seahawks | DST |
| 2 | 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | DST |
| 3 | 7 | Buffalo Bills | DST |
| 3 | 8 | Indianapolis Colts | DST |
| 3 | 9 | Kansas City Chiefs | DST |
| 3 | 10 | Los Angeles Rams | DST |
| 4 | 11 | Los Angeles Chargers | DST |
| 4 | 12 | New York Giants | DST |
| 4 | 13 | Dallas Cowboys | DST |
| 4 | 14 | Baltimore Ravens | DST |
| 4 | 15 | Houston Texans | DST |
| 5 | 16 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | DST |
| 5 | 17 | Miami Dolphins | DST |
| 5 | 18 | Denver Broncos | DST |
| 5 | 19 | New Orleans Saints | DST |
| 5 | 20 | Jacksonville Jaguars | DST |
| 5 | 21 | San Francisco 49ers | DST |
| 5 | 22 | Carolina Panthers | DST |
| 6 | 23 | Washington Commanders | DST |
| 6 | 24 | Tennessee Titans | DST |
| 6 | 25 | Las Vegas Raiders | DST |
| 6 | 26 | New York Jets | DST |
| 6 | 27 | New England Patriots | DST |
| 7 | 28 | Cincinnati Bengals | DST |
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding defenses like the Colts DST, Seahawks DST, Cardinals DST, Jaguars DST, Lions DST. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 5. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific defenses like Colts DST, Seahawks DST, Cardinals DST, Jaguars DST, Lions DST. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 5 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for the Colts DST, Seahawks DST, Cardinals DST, Jaguars DST, Lions DST compared to others:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
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