X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Week 14 Defense (DEF) Streamers and Starts - 2022 Fantasy Tiers, Rankings

Raiders Defense - Fantasy Football DST, Maxx Crosby IDP, Defense Rankings

Eric breaks down all 2022 fantasy football Week 14 defenses (DEF) -- streamers, sits/starts, and D/ST waiver wire pickups to add. His Week 14 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL defenses.

We had a bit of a crazy week in DST scoring with poor defenses like the Rams, Raiders, and Texans all finishing inside the top 10. We were able to hit on five of the top 10 though, scoring big with Dallas, Cleveland, and San Francisco, so that feels good. It's important to keep a close eye on injuries and coaching decisions this late in the season because teams that are out of playoff contention may choose to rest players they otherwise wouldn't, which could drastically change defense projections. Sometimes we won't know that until Sunday morning, so always make sure you're checking in before locking your lineups.

We're also far enough into the season that we need to keep in mind season-long rankings but also recent performance. In the writeups below you'll hear me mention season-long stats as well as fantasy performances over the last six weeks to try and create a balance analytical approach.

I also published a rest-of-season article where I looked at defenses that could pair well with one another to give you the best possible performance week in and week out, so check that out if you're gearing up for playoffs.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

As a reminder, every week I do a YouTube DST video called Pick 3(DST) where I give you three defenses I like during the week and one that I'm fading. We have some fun with it, but I think it gives a lot of the same reasoning I present here, so check it out for some video fun. And my BOD Leaderboard is available on Public Tableau, where you can see my updated BOD rankings, plus a leaderboard for the individual defensive stats I use for the BOD formula, and some of the offensive stats that I think can help us determine which DST to play or not. Also, make sure to always check back with this article over the weekend because I will my updated rankings as the week goes on when we get injury news or troubling weather information, etc.

 

What is the BOD Ranking Formula?

Last year I introduced my Best Overall Defense (BOD) rankings formula, and I'll be using it again this year. I'll give a quick overview of the formula below, followed by my general strategy for streaming defenses, and then my Week 14 fantasy football defense (DST) rankings. Good luck in Week 14 everyone!

The BOD (Best Overall Defense) formula takes into account my favorite stats for picking the right defenses (both positive and negative) and weighs them in a formula. You can view the RANKINGS AND COMPLETE LEADERBOARD of all the stats I use here. I tweaked the formula as the season went on last year, and I feel like it gives us a pretty good indicator of who has the best defenses for fantasy purposesIf you don't want to click that link, the formula is:

(Pressure Rate x 2) + (Sacks) + (QB Hurry Rate) + (Pass Break-Ups) + (%Drives ending in a Turnover x 2)

Minus

(Missed Tackles)+ (% Drives ending in a Score x 2) + (Yards per play)

It's important to clarify that the BOD rankings ARE NOT to be treated as weekly rankings. BOD is meant to tell us who the best fantasy defenses are, but depending on the matchup, they might be ranked differently in a given week. That's why we have this column where I will be breaking down my rankings for each week and an explanation of why I have the defenses ranked the way I do. The rankings will take into account their BOD ranking, opponent, injuries, weather, etc., but I hope my explanation will help make sense of each ranking.

 

Picking The Right Defenses To Pickup and Start

Just a quick recap of my general philosophy and what we discussed at length last year: when choosing a defense, you want to look for defenses that get consistent pressure and takeaways. Sacks and turnovers are more valuable for fantasy defense than preventing yardage and even, to a certain extent, preventing points. If a defense allows a stingy yards-per-play number, that's great and I'll cite some of those numbers below. However, they better also be able to get into the backfield or force turnovers, or else it won't really matter in the long run.

Essentially, we need to move away from points against as being the most important factor in choosing a fantasy defense. In 2021, NFL offenses gained 343.6 yards per game and scored 23.0 points per game. While that's down from the 24.8 scored in 2020 (most likely because of the deep safety defenses), it's still the third-most in the Super Bowl era.

With offenses putting up video game numbers, it means that we can't continue to judge a defense solely by the number of points they allow or the number of yards they give up. Those numbers will naturally be higher than we're used to. Instead, we need to look for which offensive lines are truly weak points and which defenses will either be blitz-heavy or get consistent pressure with their pass rush. These are all incredibly important pieces of information in determining which defenses to play in any given week.

Starting the right defense every week can be a difference-maker, so remember to check back here during the week as I will make updates once we get more information on some of these injuries and also get a better sense of the weather for the game.

 

Season Record

69-62 correctly predicting top-10 defenses

I want to track how correctly I pick the top 10 this year, so I'll keep track using FantasyPros total points. If anybody has other suggestions, let me know.

 

Week 14 Defenses To Start and Stream: Tiered Rankings

Confidence Ratings (out of 15) - Since every league's DST scoring is different, projections don't always make a ton of sense. The confidence rating is a guideline for how much more I like one team over another instead of just a point projection. This is the best way to see just how much I like one team over another. Not all one or two-spot differences are the same.

A zero means "do not start," and then the confidence rises from there. Typically the top three tiers will be DSTs you should target, with Tier 4 being options in deep leagues.

 

Tier 1 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 14

Back to just two defenses in tier one, but we have a bit of a weird week where a lot of offenses we've been targeting, like the Colts, Saints, and Bears are all on a bye, so the true plus matchups are limited. The Cowboys and Eagles have been two of the best fantasy defenses all year long, and you have no issues running them out there for these games.

 

Tier 2 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 14

The Ravens are the 6th-ranked defense over the last six weeks, averaging 8.6 points per game, so they are always worth consideration for the top 10. While the Steelers offense has been improving lately, they are still not an offense to fear. Kenny Pickett is making more than his fair share of turnover-worthy plays, and the Ravens are 2nd in the NFL in turnover rate and 5th in sacks.

The one thing working against the Ravens is that it looks like Tyler Huntley could be starting in place of Lamar Jackson. That could put this Ravens' defense in some bad spots, but it also makes the Steelers' defense a potential top-10 play as well. While Huntley did have some big moments last year, he also turned the ball over eight times in four starts, so a Steelers defense that now has T.J. Watt back should be able to force him into mistakes.

The Broncos give up the 6th-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses at 11.8 per game, which puts the Chiefs in play even though they're the 11th-ranked defense over the last month, averaging 6.8 points per game. With Courtland Sutton suffering an injury last week and Jerry Jeudy still working his way back from his, this already-weak Broncos offense could be even more inept.

The Bills' defense is starting to get healthier and we saw that pay off last week against the Patriots. Playing without Von Miller will take some bite out of this pass rush, but having Jordan Poyer, Tremaine Edmunds, and Tre'Davious White back will help the secondary tremendously. The Bills are currently 4th in the NFL in opponent's scoring rate, 5th in turnover rate, and 4th in tackles for a loss and will be playing a young and inexperienced Jets team at home in a crucial matchup for playoff seeding. I expect this defense to show up this weekend.

The 49ers are the number-one defense over the last month, averaging 12.5 points per game, so they are going to remain in the top 10 conversation regardless of the matchup. However, this one isn't terrible. The Bucs simply don't look like the same dynamic offense despite having tons of talent. The Bucs also don't give up a lot of sacks or turn the ball over a bunch, so it's unlikely that the 49ers put up a massive total here, but I think they're safe enough to get into the top ten.

The Seahawks had a really uneven performance last week against a beat-up Rams offense, so it's hard to trust them again, but we have to entertain playing them against a Panthers team that gives up the 4th-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses at 12 per game. They have been a little better of late with Sam Darnold under center, but this Seahawks defense is 4th in the NFL in turnover rate and 13th in sacks so they can earn fantasy points in a few ways.

 

Tier 3 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 14

The Bucs inch into the top ten because the 49ers will likely start untested Brock Purdy at quarterback on Sunday. The Bucs are also 4th in the NFL in sacks, 5th in tackles for a loss, and 2nd in opponents scoring rate, which gives them a pretty safe weekly floor.

The Raiders have been one of the worst fantasy defenses this season, but they had a solid day against the Chargers on Sunday and now get to face the Rams, who give up the 2nd-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses at 14.6 per game. I'm not sure I can trust the Raiders to put up a huge number, but they need this game for their playoff races, so I think they should be safe enough to land inside the top ten. UPDATE: Baker Mayfield may start for the Rams but that changes nothing for me. 

People like to hate on the Panthers, but their defense has continued to play hard this season and they are the number five defense over the last month, averaging 10 points per game. They'll now get a Seahawks team that has been solid but showed some cracks against a Rams defense without Aaron Donald on Sunday. If Kenneth Walker isn't able to play, it will put a lot of pressure on Geno Smith against a defense that is 7th in the NFL in tackles for a loss and 9th in quarterback hurry rate.

Both the Cardinals and Patriots are in play here since the Patriots are the 2nd-ranked defense over the last six weeks, averaging 11.6 points per game, but they also give up the 9th-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses at 10.7 per game. New England probably has the better overall defense, but they have really the last two weeks against the Vikings and Bills. This Cardinals team comes in with both DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown healthy, and that's a concern given the way Stefon Diggs abused the Patriots' cornerbacks.

Lastly, we have to mention the Jets since they are the 9th-ranked defense over the last six weeks, averaging 7.6 points per game, and they also handled the Bills pretty well in their first meeting. I don't really want to play defenses against the Bills, but if you're desperate or in a deep league, you can at least take solace in the fact that this is a good defense, and Buffalo has some offensive line issues.

 

Tier 4 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 14

The Titans give up the 8th-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses at 11 per game.

 

Tier 5 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 14

There are a lot of defenses I just don't want to play this week.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis


Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Roman Anthony

"High Probability" Roman Anthony Lands on Injured List
Justin Thomas

Making Fourth Ryder Cup Team Appearance at Bethpage
Ben Griffin

Making First Career Ryder Cup Appearance at Bethpage
Bryson DeChambeau

Set to be Part of Team USA at Bethpage
Jason Adam

to Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
Roman Anthony

Will Undergo MRI on Wednesday
Santi Aldama

Bags Double-Double in Losing Effort
Guerschon Yabusele

Erupts for 36 Points Against Poland
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Leads Slovenia Into Next Round at EuroBasket
San Antonio Spurs

Stanley Umude Signs Training Camp Deal With Spurs
Reece Beekman

Joins Magic for Training Camp
Justin Minaya

Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Magic
Travis Hunter

Jaguars List Travis Hunter as Starting Wide Receiver, Backup Cornerback
Kyle Tucker

Leaves With Calf Tightness on Tuesday
Alexandre Sarr

to Miss Rest of EuroBasket
Max Scherzer

Blue Jays Confident Max Scherzer Will Make Saturday Start Despite Back Tightness
Roman Anthony

Leaves Early With Back Injury
Jared McCain

"On Pace" for Training Camp
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Done for the Year With Torn ACL
Luke Hughes

Devils Optimistic About Signing Luke Hughes
Martin Fehérváry

Martin Fehervary on Track to Be Ready for Training Camp
Dylan Holloway

Good to Go for Start of Season
Nick Kurtz

Back in Action on Tuesday
Josh Morrissey

Fully Healthy for Start of Season
Dennis Hildeby

Signs Three-Year Extension With Maple Leafs
Nick Lodolo

Scratched With Illness
Dalton Kincaid

Role Not Expected to Grow?
Quinshon Judkins

Zero Chance Quinshon Judkins Plays Against Bengals?
Najee Harris

Says He's Expecting to Play Against Chiefs
Adolis García

Adolis Garcia Departs Monday with Quad Injury
Franz Wagner

Collects Double-Double in Blowout Win
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Achieves Rare Numbers at EuroBasket
Nikola Vučević

Nikola Vucevic Dominates Against Sweden
Stefon Diggs

Expected to Suit Up in Week 1
Kristaps Porzingis

Finding Form at EuroBasket
Nikola Jović

Nikola Jovic Suffers Minor Injury at EuroBasket
DJ Moore

Bears Experimenting with DJ Moore in Backfield
Rome Odunze

Could Move All Around the Offense
Carolina Panthers

Dave Canales Comfortable With Panthers' Young Receivers
Quinshon Judkins

Not Considering NCAA Return
Dallas Goedert

Healthy for Week 1
Marvin Mims Jr.

Returns to Practice Monday
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Carted Off Monday With Knee Injury
Jason Adam

Diagnosed With Ruptured Left Quadriceps Tendon
Victor Wembanyama

Looking "Quite Stellar"
Fernando Tatis Jr.

Scratched on Monday
Matthew Stafford

Expected to Start in Week 1
Edward Cabrera

Heading to Injured List With Elbow Sprain
Najee Harris

Cleared for Contact, Could Play in Week 1
Denny Hamlin

Ends Eventful Day at Darlington in Seventh Place
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Almost Earns a Top-Five Finish at Darlington
John Hunter Nemechek

has His Best 2025 Performance at Darlington
Ryan Blaney

Has An Underwhelming Performance At Darlington
Josh Berry

Crashes Early and Suffers A Playoff Setback at Darlington
Harry Ford

Called Up for Major-League Debut
Victor Scott II

Activated From Injured List
Fernando Tatis Jr.

Dealing With Hamstring Tightness, Expects to Play Monday
Giannis Antetokounmpo

"Staying in Milwaukee"
Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Agrees to a One-Year Contract with Milwaukee
Kyrie Irving

"Healing Up Great"
Dante Exum

Mavs Agree on a One-Year Deal
Jaylen Warren

Agrees to Two-Year Extension With Steelers
De'Von Achane

Practicing Monday, on Track to Play in Week 1
Quinshon Judkins

Could Report to Browns This Week
Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs, Trent McDuffie Not Expected to Finalize Extension
Chase Elliott

Under Playoff Pressure After 17th-Place Darlington Finish
Kyle Larson

Despite Hendrick Mediocrity, Kyle Larson Remains Pretty Safe in Playoffs
Alex Bowman

Opening-Lap Crash and Botched Pit Stop May Have Sunk Alex Bowman's Playoff Hopes
Erik Jones

Darlington Master Erik Jones Comes Up Short but Still Finishes Third
AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger Impresses at Southern 500
Dameon Pierce

Ahead of Schedule, Ready for Season
Jordan Love

May Wear Thumb Brace During Season
Chicago Bears

Bears Head Coach Admits Offense Could Face Learning Curve
Matt Chapman

Leaves Early on Sunday, Expects to Play Monday
A.J. Brown

Says He'll Be Active For Season Opener
Luis Garcia

to Make Season Debut on Monday
Max Scherzer

Exits Due to Back Tightness
Taylor Ward

Exits Early After Collison
Daniel Suarez

is A DFS Risk for Darlington Lineups?
Noah Gragson

Should Fantasy Managers Roster Noah Gragson for Darlington?
Ty Dillon

is an Excellent Punt Option for Darlington DFS Lineups
Bogdan Bogdanović

Bogdan Bogdanovic to Miss the Rest of EuroBasket
Denny Hamlin

Picking Up Where He Left Off At Darlington
Kyle Larson

The Sky Is The Limit for Kyle Larson at Darlington
Ryan Blaney

a Strong DFS Play at Darlington This Weekend
Tyler Reddick

Shouldn't Be Overlooked at Darlington This Weekend
Alex Bowman

An Easy Place-Differential Play in DFS This Weekend
Ty Gibbs

Could Be Strong at Darlington This Weekend
Erik Jones

Has Best Darlington Qualifying Effort Since Last Win
Zane Smith

Hopeful For Another Solid Run At Darlington
Dallas Mavericks

Olivier-Maxence Prosper Waived by the Mavs
Lauri Markkanen

Dominant in Win Over Great Britain

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP