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
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Week 3 Defense (DEF) Streamers and Starts - 2022 Fantasy Tiers, Rankings

Dallas Cowboys Defense, Trevon Diggs - Fantasy Football Rankings, IDP Targets, Draft Sleepers

Eric breaks down all 2022 fantasy football Week 3 defenses (DEF) -- streamers, sits/starts, and D/ST waiver wire pickups to add. His Week 3 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL defenses.

We're into Week 3 of the NFL season, and we're starting to see some defensive units stand out among the pack. However, it's still too early to fully give ourselves over to the data we're collecting for some of these teams. Are the Jaguars really this good? Are the Colts really this bad? Only time will tell, but it's best to exercise some caution when reacting to results that are so far outside of what we expected coming into the year. You can react to the Bills' defense being this good and the Raiders' defense being this bad though. We expected that.

We went just five for ten in our top-10 predictions from last week. I will admit that I did not see the Jaguars, Falcons, and Seahawks as potential top-10 units. I had moved the Jaguars up into the top-15 when Michael Pittman Jr. was ruled out, but they surprised me. I also didn't expect Kansas City to finish as a top-10 unit against the Chargers, and the Patriots just missed the top-10 against the Steelers, so while the overall results weren't great this week, I don't feel too bad about our process.

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 3 fantasy football defense (DST) rankings. Good luck in Week 3 everyone!

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

 

What is the BOD Ranking Formula?

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.

Since this is Week 3, I encourage people not to use the BOD rankings too heavily because the stats have clearly not stabilized yet. Also, make sure to always check the link to my updated rankings as the week goes on. When we get injury news or troubling weather information, I will update the rankings accordingly.

 

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

9-11 correctly predicting top-10 defenses

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

 

Week 3 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 3

The Cowboys rebounded from a subpar Week 1 with a dominant defensive performance in a Week 2 win over the Bengals. They are 2nd in the NFL in tackles for a loss and third in sacks through two games. They now face a Giants team that’s given up eight sacks in two games, and I still don't trust Daniel Jones to not make terrible throws. He got away with a few bad passes against the Panthers, but I think the Cowboys will make him pay for those this week. 

Why do people have the Bucs outside of the top-10 for Week 3? This is an elite defensive unit that leads the league with 10 sacks through two games. They’re also tied for 4th in turnovers forced and remain a top-tier run defense. So is the concern that they’re facing the Packers? Is this offense scary without Davante Adams? They’ve given up seven sacks in two games and they have no weapons on the outside that really scare me. I don’t see any reason to sit the Bucs defense here.

Coming into the season, we might have assumed that we need to sit defenses against the Broncos. However, Denver simply hasn't looked that inspiring on offense to start the year, and then they lost Jerry Jeudy to a clavicle injury against the Texans. The 49ers are 4th in the league in pressure rate, 3rd in tackles for a loss, and 2nd in drives that end in an opposing score. I think that makes them a relatively safe floor defense that has the pass rush to give you a potential ceiling here.

 

Tier 2 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 3

The Jaguars are a bit of a darling now after dominating the Colts, but I think the love is going a bit too far. The Colts are a flawed team, and the Jaguars lost to the Commanders in Week 1. This Chargers defense has seven sacks through two games and will easily be most talented defense the Jaguars have faced so far this season. Jacksonville is better than they were, and they have some exciting pieces, but I think this might be a come-back-to-earth game.

This Ravens ranking is assuming that Marlon Humphrey is able to play on Sunday. The Ravens defense, when Humphrey was on the field, handled the Dolphins fairly well. When Humphrey got hurt and left the game, things went south in a hurry.

Those are pretty major differences. In fact, by the end of the game, the Ravens were down four of their top five cornerbacks. Now, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins exploited the Ravens' secondary injuries like any good offense should, and hats off to them. But Mac Jones and DeVante Parker are not Tua and Tyreek Hill. If the Ravens can get Humphrey and some of their other corners back by Sunday, they should be able to handle the Patriots, but you need to keep an eye on the injury report.

At this point, we just have to put the Bills first, right? I mean, the Dolphins are not an easy matchup by any stretch of the imagination, and the Bills may be without starting cornerback Dane Jackson after a scary hit on Monday night. However, the Bills' defense has also been dominant against the Rams and Titans to start the season and if you have them, you absolutely have to start them. Will they finish number one? I'd say probably not, but I really can't think of a defense I'd feel comfortable starting over them right now. UPDATE: Turns out that missing SIX defensive starters will move you down the rankings a little bit. 

This is not the same Colts offensive line we've come to expect dominance from in the past. They've given up seven sacks in two games to the Texans and Jaguars. They are having real issues opening holes for Jonathan Taylor and protecting Matt Ryan. We also saw that this is not necessarily an offense that likes to open it up and throw. Yes, Michael Pittman Jr. was out, but Matt Ryan threw three bad interceptions in comeback mode against the Jags. What's going to happen when they try to keep up with this Chiefs offense? The Chiefs are an opportunistic defense that is 3rd in the NFL in pressure rate so far, so I expect them to be in Ryan's face a lot on Sunday.

This Steelers and Browns game features two defenses that can certainly be in your lineups this week; however, the discrepancy in fantasy rankings is confusing to me. How are the Browns the consensus number one defense right now? Did we not all just see what happened against the Jets?

Yes, I know it was a miracle comeback, but the Browns are currently bottom-third in QB pressure rate, are not really forcing turnovers, and are allowing far too many points. The Steelers have only allowed four sacks through two games, despite facing the Bengals and Patriots and are actually tied for 2nd-best in the league in offensive turnover rate. So they may be bad, but they're not really giving up tons of fantasy points.

I have the same amount of confusion with the Eagles. This is a defense that gave up 35 points to the Lions and then went out and absolutely dominated the Vikings. Which version of this defense will show up against a solid Commanders offense? The Eagles are second to last in the NFL in QB pressure rate and have just three sacks in two games. Darius Slay was a one-man wrecking crew on Monday, but can that continue? I'm not 100% sure but there could also be some bad weather in this game, which makes me think the Eagles are a solid play here.

The Rams were trending towards a solid performance against the Falcons, leading 28-3 in the third quarter before a Matthew Stafford interception and a blocked punt touchdown gave the Falcons life. However, it's also clear that this Rams team is not firing on all cylinders and Kyler Murray, despite being erratic, is still capable of making defenses pay for sloppiness. I think the Rams are playable, but this Cardinals offense isn't really a bad unit.

Tier 3 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 3

This is a big tier, but I'm confused by the vast majority of these defenses early in the season.

The Packers are ranked a bit too low by consensus for me considering the Bucs will be without Mike Evans (suspension), Chris Godwin (hamstring), and maybe Julio Jones (knee). Julio is the only one with even a chance to play, which would leave the Bucs with just Breshad Perriman and Russell Gage. Tom Brady has certainly made it work with less, but this Bucs offensive line is really banged up, and the Packers are 2nd in the NFL in QB pressure rate. If Brady doesn't have weapons to challenge them, they could dial up lots of pressure.

The Bengals are a team I'm surprised to see ranked so high. They just laid a major egg against Cooper Rush and a banged-up Cowboys offense and lost in Week 1 to Mitchell Trubisky. Yes, Joe Flacco is not a great quarterback, but he's thrown for 300 yards or multiple touchdowns in five straight starts, and the Jets have talented playmakers on that offense. This Bengals defense has just two sacks through the first two weeks and has forced one turnover. The Jets aren't just going to give them the ball.

The Steelers defense has seven sacks and 14 pass break-ups in two games and is 4th in the league in turnover rate. Obviously, these are small sample sizes, but the defense remains solid, even without T.J. Watt, and this Browns offense is still just average with Jacoby Brisset at quarterback. I think this could be an ugly, grind-it-out slugfest that leads to a low score but not too many fantasy points for defenses through sacks and turnovers.

I also see some people ranking the Saints in the top five. What have they done to deserve that? I was optimistic coming into the year, but they're last in the NFL in pressure rate, have one sack in two games, and have given up points on 34.6% of their drives. The Panthers have three turnovers and six sacks allowed through two games, so there is an avenue for some success against them, but they also have talented players on the offensive side of the ball, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them also improve as the weeks go on. I think the Saints are playable this week, but they concern me. 

This tier has three defenses that are intriguing because of their matchup. The Bears lead the NFL in pressure rate and have 12 tackles for a loss in two games. They will bring pressure against Davis Mills and could force some turnovers, even though Mills has been pretty good with the ball, and the Texans have allowed six sacks in two games. On the other side of the ball, the Bears are playing uninspired football, and the Texans have kept both the Broncos and Colts in check, so they should easily be able to keep Justin Fields from going off against them.

UPDATE: Jacksonville moves into this tier as it continues to seem like Justin Herbert will sit. The Chargers still have weapons and Chase Daniel is a serviceable backup, so the Jags aren't a MUST PLAY, but they become a strong deep league option given their performance to date.

The Broncos are another team that has let us down so far this season with two uninspired performances. The 49ers are not as dynamic without Trey Lance, but Jimmy Garoppolo guided this team to the NFC Championship last year. He's a game manager who gets the ball into the hands of his playmakers, and George Kittle might be back for this game. I'm just not sure I can trust the Broncos - or many teams in this tier, frankly.

Lastly, the Seahawks are 6th in the NFL in pressure rate and 3rd in tackles for a loss. They will be playing in front of their home crowd against a Falcons offense that doesn't seem to want to get the ball to their best player. It would not surprise me if the Seahawks broke into the top-12 this week.

Tier 4 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 3

Tier 5 Defenses - Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 3



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
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Will Smith

Scratched With Hand Soreness on Wednesday
Ketel Marte

has Foot Contusion, Expected to Play Friday
Shohei Ohtani

Won't Pitch This Weekend
MacKenzie Gore

to Start on Thursday
Ketel Marte

Exits Early on Wednesday
Matthew Knies

Ready for Bigger Role With Maple Leafs
Jack Eichel

Unbothered by Lack of Extension
Sidney Crosby

Not Thinking About Leaving Pittsburgh
SJ

Michael Misa Signs Entry-Level Contract With Sharks
Rutger McGroarty

Nursing an Injury
Brock Purdy

"a Long Shot" to Play on Sunday
Aaron Rodgers

Dealing With Back Tightness
Dallas Goedert

Questionable for Week 2 at Chiefs
Anthony Rizzo

Retires
Cameron Champ

the Ultimate Wild Card at Procore
Cameron Young

Looks to Extend Momentum in Napa
Davis Thompson

Searching for a Spark at Procore
Sahith Theegala

Looking to Reignite Form at Procore
Mackenzie Hughes

Aims for Another Strong Showing at Procore
Luke Clanton

Brings Ball-Striking Upside to Napa
Seamus Power

Looking to Overcome Poor Course History at Procore
Joe Highsmith

Hoping to Find Form in Napa
Jadeveon Clowney

Visiting With the Cowboys on Wednesday
Masyn Winn

Will Require Offseason Knee Surgery
Kristaps Porzingis

Reportedly Still Not Completely Healthy
Kelly Oubre Jr.

Reportedly on the Trade Block
Andre Drummond

Future in Philadelphia in Doubt
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Helps Greece Reach Semis at EuroBasket
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Posts Historic Triple-Double
Joel Dahmen

Finishes Tied For 15 at Wyndham Championship
Bud Cauley

Finishes Tied for 33rd at BMW Championship
Justin Thomas

Finishes Tied for Seventh at Tour Championship
J.J. Spaun

Finishes Tied for 25th at Tour Championship
Collin Morikawa

Finishes Tied for 19th at Tour Championship
Keith Mitchell

Misses Cut at Wyndham Championship
Ben Griffin

Finishes Tied for 10th at Tour Championship
Patrick Cantlay

Finishes Tied for Second at Tour Championship
Gary Woodland

Could Hang Around at Procore Championship
Ranger Suárez

Ranger Suarez Strikes Out 12, Earns 12th Win on Tuesday
Karl Vilips

Ready for Napa Valley This Weekend
Taylor Montgomery

Heating Up at the Right Time
Jackson Koivun

May Be a Little Rusty at Procore Championship
Doug Ghim

Looking to Rise Up at Napa Valley
Christian Watson

Agrees to One-Year Contract Extension
Josh Giddey

Re-Signs With Bulls for Four Years
Shakir Mukhamadullin

Joins Informal Skate
William Eklund

Skates With Sharks
Owen Power

Back at 100 Percent
Tyler Seguin

Cleared for Action
Mathew Barzal

Good to Go for Season Opener
Will Smith

Returns to Dodgers Lineup on Tuesday
Dustin Wolf

Signs Seven-Year Extension
Kyle Stowers

Dealing With Strained Side
Kyle Tucker

Placed on Injured List With Calf Strain
Jauan Jennings

Considered Day-to-Day, has a Chance to Play in Week 2
Jalen Carter

Receives One-Game Suspension, Will be Eligible for Week 2
Bo Bichette

Goes on Injured List With Knee Sprain
George Kittle

Placed on Injured Reserve
Tyreek Hill

Accused of Domestic Violence
Jauan Jennings

Avoids Serious Shoulder Injury
Garrett Crochet

Shuts Out the Athletics
Royce Lewis

Launches Two Homers Monday Night
NBA

Mason Jones Takes His Talents to Australia
NBA

Talen Horton-Tucker Joins Reigning EuroLeague Champions
New York Knicks

Malcolm Brogdon on Knicks' Radar
Andrew Wiggins

Attracting Interest From Lakers
Miami Heat

Heat Interested in Reunion With Precious Achiuwa
Tyler Glasnow

Fans 11 in Seven No-Hit Innings Monday
Slade Cecconi

Takes No-Hitter Into Eighth Inning Monday
Max Muncy

Batting Cleanup in Return to Dodgers
New York Knicks

Ben Simmons Reportedly Declined Knicks' Contract Offer
Younghoe Koo

Falcons Auditioning Kickers, Could Replace Younghoe Koo
Denver Broncos

Sean Payton Says Broncos Need to be Better With Run-Pass Balance
Tank Bigsby

Eagles Acquiring Tank Bigsby From Jaguars on Monday
George Kittle

Likely Out 3-5 Weeks, Could Land on Injured Reserve
Chase Burns

to be Activated on Friday
Brock Purdy

Dealing With Multiple Injuries, Could Miss Week 2
Tyler Glasnow

Cleared to Start on Monday
Logan O'Hoppe

Placed on Concussion Injured List
Christian Yelich

Returning on Monday
Elias Pettersson

Feeling "Good" Ahead of Season
NHL

Alex Formenton Rejoins Swiss Team
NHL

Grigori Denisenko Heads Back Home
CAR

Kevin Labanc Joins Hurricanes for Tryout
Ross Colton

Healthy for Start of Season
Brock Bowers

Considered Day-to-Day With Knee Injury
Jonathan Taylor

is "Good" After Taking a Hit to his Neck in Week 1
Caio Borralho

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Nassourdine Imavov

Extends Win Streak
Mauricio Ruffy

Gets Submitted
Benoît Saint Denis

Benoit Saint Denis Taps Out Mauricio Ruffy
Russell Wilson

Remains the Giants Starter
Paul Craig

Retires After UFC Paris Loss
Denny Hamlin

Earns his First Cup Victory at Gateway
Kyle Larson

Damage Ruins Kyle Larson's Chance At a Top Finish at Gateway
Christopher Bell

Scores his Third Top-10 Finish at Gateway
Joey Logano

Maintains his Perfect Top-Five Streak at Gateway
Ryan Blaney

Struggles and Recovers for a Top-Five Finish at Gateway
Modestas Bukauskas

Scores First-Round Knockout
Bolaji Oki

Suffers Second-Round TKO Loss
Xavier Worthy

Week-to-Week with Dislocated Shoulder
Mason Jones

Scores Comeback Win
Rhys McKee

Suffers Third-Round TKO Loss
Axel Sola

Successful In His UFC Debut
Robert Ruchała

Robert Ruchala Unsuccessful In His UFC Debut
William Gomis

Bounces Back In The Win Column
Derrick Henry

Scores Twice but has Costly Fumble on Sunday
Lamar Jackson

Shines With Three Total Touchdowns in Loss to Bills
Chase Elliott

Gets Lucky but Still Has Best Run at Gateway
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Wins Stage 2, but Was Let Down by Strategy
Tyler Reddick

Despite Bad Luck, Tyler Reddick Does What he Needed to Do
Chase Briscoe

Recovers from Incident with Daniel Suarez to Finish Second
William Byron

Late Caution Foils William Byron's Shot at Gateway Victory
Jayson Tatum

"Moving Around Way Better"
Ryan Blaney

Should Contend at Gateway
Denny Hamlin

Fastest in Qualifying, the Favorite to Win at Gateway
Christopher Bell

Looking for Redemption at Gateway
Joey Logano

Has Been Elite at Gateway
Austin Cindric

Should Be On Your Radar at Gateway
AJ Allmendinger

Could Be a Sleeper Again at Gateway
Tyler Reddick

Southern 500 Near-Miss Makes Tyler Reddick a Stronger Option for Gateway
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace a Likely Gateway Contender
Alex Bowman

a Long Shot to Advance in Playoffs
Austin Dillon

Richard Childress Racing Looks Slower at Gateway, Which Will Hurt Austin Dillon
Shane Van Gisbergen

Starts 18th in Gateway Debut
Jeremy Swayman

Ready to Get Back on Track
Connor McDavid

Aiming for More Goals
NJ

Luke Glendening Signs Tryout Deal With Devils
Dylan Harper

Hoping to be Ready for the Opener Versus Dallas
EDM

Derek Ryan Retires From Hockey
Connor Zary

Agrees to Three-Year Deal With Flames
Caio Borralho

Set For A Title Eliminator Bout
Nassourdine Imavov

Looks To Earn A Title Shot
Mauricio Ruffy

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Benoît Saint Denis

Benoit Saint Denis Set For UFC Paris Co-Main Event
Modestas Bukauskas

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Paul Craig

In Dire Need Of Victory
Mason Jones

Set for Main-Card Bout
Bolaji Oki

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Rhys McKee

Set To Open Up UFC Paris Main Card

RANKINGS

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