The top Week 10 defense streamers - fantasy football D/ST pickups, streamers and starts for 2025. Target these fantasy DST streaming options with strong matchups.
With Week 9 in the books, it's time to identify defensive streamers for the Week 10 slate of the regular season.
This week, we will spotlight four defensive units that are available in more than 65% of the fantasy leagues that can push for the top-12 upside this week.
Who should fantasy managers look to target on the waiver wire and plug into their starting lineup? Let's dive in!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Top Week 10 Defense Streamers (D/ST)
Only defenses rostered in fewer than 65% of fantasy football leagues are considered potential streamers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. NE
20% Rostered
Since Week 6, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have quietly been the most dominant unit for fantasy football. During this stretch, they have totaled 45.0 FPTS and averaged 15.0 FPTS/G, which is nearly 3.0 FPTS more than the No. 2 defense, the Los Angeles Rams.
They have forced 15 sacks during this stretch, which should provide them with an elite floor, despite facing a tough New England offense. However, even though Drake Maye is playing at an MVP level, he is being hit behind the line of scrimmage quite often. Last weekend, the Falcons sacked him six times.
Even though the Patriots may score 20+ points, expect Maye to face ample pressure, which provides Tampa Bay with a very high floor.
Dropped by @VitaVea 😡
📺: #PHIvsTB on FOX pic.twitter.com/UiXhuoh5LD
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 28, 2025
Chicago Bears vs. NYG
20% Rostered
When looking at forcing takeaways, the Chicago Bears are at the top of the sport. The Bears have forced 13 interceptions (most in football) and six fumbles (second-most in football). Even though they allowed 42 points last weekend, they were worth a look as a streamer facing the New York Giants.
Last weekend, the New York Giants struggled to generate much offense without their top running back, Cam Skattebo (ankle). In their loss to the 49ers, the Giants scored 24 points with a modest 117 rushing yards. If New York's offense continues to struggle, Chicago could carry some sneaky upside, given their ability to force turnovers at an elite level.
.@KevinByard comes up with our third takeaway of the day 🔥
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/TvN6tebxN1
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 19, 2025
Carolina Panthers vs. NO
40% Rostered
The Carolina Panthers have the most favorable matchup in this week's streaming piece. The Panthers will host the New Orleans Saints, who enter this game with a low 15.3 PPG, the second-lowest in the league, behind only the Titans, who are off in Week 10. Last weekend, Tyler Shough stumbled in his NFL debut, going 15-for-24 with 176 yards and a 1:1 TD:INT.
The Panthers are coming off an impressive performance of their own, where they held the Packers to just 13 points in Lambeau Field. In this upset victory, the Carolina defense tallied one sack and forced an interception. They have a much higher ceiling this week, facing a struggling New Orleans offense.
New Orleans Saints at CAR
10% Rostered
The final streamer is a target for those in deeper leagues. The Saints will be on the opposite side of this matchup and could carry some sneaky upside facing an inconsistent Carolina offense. Over the last three games, the Panthers have scored more than 15 points only once and have fallen under the double-digit point mark once.
During this three-game stretch, the Panthers are averaging just 133.6 passing yards per game, which could set New Orleans up for some success. Since Week 7, the Saints have totaled six sacks and have held opponents to under 25 points just once. While they have not been overly impressive, they have a strong matchup on paper that could push them into the top 12 this weekend.
Week 10 Defense Rankings and Tiers
| Rank | Player Name |
| 1 | Buffalo Bills |
| 2 | Denver Broncos |
| 3 | Carolina Panthers |
| 4 | Cleveland Browns |
| 5 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 6 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 7 | Houston Texans |
| 8 | Detroit Lions |
| 9 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 10 | Baltimore Ravens |
| 11 | Chicago Bears |
| 12 | New England Patriots |
| 13 | New York Jets |
| 14 | Los Angeles Chargers |
| 15 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 16 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 18 | New Orleans Saints |
| 19 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 20 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 21 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 22 | Green Bay Packers |
| 23 | New York Giants |
| 24 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 25 | Arizona Cardinals |
| 26 | Las Vegas Raiders |
| 27 | Washington Commanders |
| 28 | Miami Dolphins |
Read more defense news and updates for Week 10
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 10 Defense Decisions. Today's focus is on specific team defenses - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 10.
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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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 that 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 10 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 10 (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 10 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 10 for defenses like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers:
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