October 4, 2016

Bill's fantasy football rankings for Week 5 defenses (DEF) -- streamers, starts, sits and D/ST waiver wire pickups to add. His Week 5 (2016) tiers and ranks for all NFL defenses.

Below are RotoBaller's Week 5 defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream, start and target at the end of your 2016 drafts for Week 5 of the NFL and fantasy football season. Our tiered defense rankings are your guide to drafting defenses, making waiver wire pickups/adds to improve your lineups, and to decide which defenses to start, sit, target, avoid or stream for Week 5.

Any and all _____ or ______ questions can be answered by the rankings--whoever I have ranked higher is who I would start.

Starting the right defense every week can be a difference-maker, so we have broken out our defense rankings into tiers with analysis on each matchup. Some of these Week 5 defenses have good matchups and are not widely owned, representing fantasy scoring opportunities if they are available on your league's waiver wire for a Week 5 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 5, RotoBallers!

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about more Week 5 waiver wire recommendations, for all other positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

Week 5 Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings

Teams on bye: Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints

Tier 1 Defenses

1. Carolina Panthers (vs. TB)
2. Minnesota Vikings (vs. HOU)
3. Denver Broncos (vs. ATL)
4. Buffalo Bills (@ LA)
5. Los Angeles Rams (vs. BUF)

Nobody circles the wagons like...the Buffalo Bills. Of course I'm not going to overemphasize their shutout of the Jacoby Brissett-led Patriots--Belichick can only do so much with a third-string quarterback. I will look at the entire body of work, though. Through four games, they have 13 sacks and eight turnovers (although four INTs came in one game) to go with two defensive touchdowns. The ferocity they've showed so far combined with a matchup against the still-underwhelming Rams offense has me convinced the Bills are the real deal this season.

The Rams have finally started looking a bit like the dominant defense most expected coming into the season. A terrific performance against the Cardinals was very encouraging, and with five sacks and seven turnovers in their last two games I think this DST can be counted on moving forward. The Bills offense doesn't scare me off of that, even though Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy have been great the last two weeks.
Tier 2 Defenses

6. Philadelphia Eagles (@ DET)
7. Arizona Cardinals (@ SF)
8. Cincinnati Bengals (@ DAL)
9. Houston Texans (@ MIN)
10. New England Patriots (@ CLE)

I am all-in on this Eagles defense this year. They've yet to allow more than 14 points in any game and have at least three sacks and an interception in each of their three games. They're coming off a bye, so you can bet they'll be prepared for everything that Jim Bob Cooter and Matt Stafford are going to throw at them. Love them this week and going forward, but I see this being a high-scoring game so they fall just outside my top-five.

The Patriots have to show me something for me to believe in them long-term, and the seemingly tasty matchup against the Browns might not be so satisfying. The Browns offense has looked downright competent the last couple of weeks, with Isaiah Crowell and Terrelle Pryor providing a very legitimate spark. You'll be hard-pressed to find better options on the waiver wire, and I've still got them in my top ten. Tom Brady will be back, so it's not like I expect the Browns to win, but I don't LOVE this game for the Patriots defense.
Tier 3 Defenses

11. Baltimore Ravens (vs. WAS)
12. Green Bay Packers (vs. NYG)
13. Washington Redskins (@BAL)
14. San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)

The Baltimore defense looked very vulnerable on Sunday, as Derek Carr and Michael Crabtree positively lit them up. I don't see that being the case with Kirk Cousins and the Redskins, although Cousins has looked progressively better in each game he's played so far. In a home game, the Ravens should make for a top-flight streaming option in Week 5.

Holy doley, what are the 49ers doing here? Carson Palmer is currently in the concussion protocol, so that's one factor in their favor. Drew Stanton is less than intimidating, even given the weapons he has around him. If Palmer DOES play, he's been atrocious in the last two weeks (1:5 TD-INT ratio) and I think the 49ers have some significant turnover potential. Throw in the fact that this is a home game on Thursday night and you've got the makings of a shockingly streamable defense. I doubt very highly anybody will start the 49ers outside of 24-team leagues, but I'm ranking them here anyway.
Tier 4 Defenses

15. Tennessee Titans (@ MIA)
16. Dallas Cowboys (vs. CIN)
17. Miami Dolphins (vs. TEN)
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. NYJ)
19. New York Giants (@ GB)
20. Chicago Bears (@ IND)

Ryan Tannehill and the rest of the Dolphins offense is hot garbage right now, so I'm all for streaming against them. Cue up the Titans. Likewise, the Titans aren't lighting up scoreboards and the Dolphins have been above-average at generating pressure. If the Titans make a couple mistakes, the Dolphins should be able to capitalize. Emphasis on "should".

The depleted Steelers defense looked great against the Chiefs on Sunday night, so it stands to reason that they have some upside against Ryan PickSixTrick and the rest of the Jets, right? Not one of my favorite options for streaming, but I'd bet my Jim Kelly jersey that they force a couple of turnovers.

The Bears did surprisingly well against the Lions in Week 4, and they'll get to visit a theoretically jet-lagged Colts team. The Colts offensive line is a complete hodgepodge right now, and even the Bears should be able to create some pressure against Andrew Luck and Frank Gore. There is no risk of a shutout here, but a handful of sacks with a turnover or two? You could do worse, my friends.