Best Week 5 Defense Streamers - Fantasy Football DST Pickups and Starts

The top Week 5 defense streamers - fantasy football D/ST pickups, streamers and starts for 2025. Target these fantasy DST streaming options with strong matchups.

Today we're looking at some top Week 5 defense streamers for fantasy football and the 2025 NFL season. Ya like streaming defenses? Of course you do... and we do too. One of the best parts of fantasy football weekly management is adding and starting the right DST each week.

Hitting on the right fantasy defense can win your matchup and make you feel like a superstar. Whiff on your team defense, and you can end up with negative points. This week is tricky since teams are on byes, and some of the juicy DST matchups are for highly-rostered defenses. But that leaves plenty of middle-of-the-road defenses to scoop up -- sneaky plays with solid matchups that can upgrade your lineups.

So who are some of the top fantasy DST streamers for Week 5? Which fantasy football defense streamers are worth adding and starting on your fantasy teams? Let's dive in and take a look. Good luck in Week 5 RotoBallers!

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) rankings
• Tight end (TE) rankings
• Quarterback (QB) rankings
• FLEX rankings
• Defense (D/ST) rankings
• Kicker (K) rankings
• Dynasty rankings

Top Week 5 Defense Streamers (D/ST)

Only defenses rostered in fewer than 65% of fantasy football leagues are considered potential streamers.

Cleveland Browns DST vs. Minnesota Vikings
58% Rostered

The Cleveland Browns defense has been a team strength to start the NFL season. They will look to keep it going against the Minnesota Vikings in London in Week 5.

Cleveland's defense ranks seventh in the league with 11 sacks thus far, while the Vikings' offensive line has struggled with Carson Wentz under center, allowing him to take nine sacks over the past two games. Fantasy managers can trust the Browns D/ST as a top-10 option heading into Week 5.

Indianapolis Colts DST vs. Las Vegas Raiders
46% Rostered

The Indianapolis Colts defense has been a solid unit to start the season, ranking 11th in the league in points allowed per game (20.8) and fourth with just 269.5 yards allowed per game while notching 10 sacks. They will look to stay hot in a Week 5 home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders, and Geno Smith especially, have been generous to opposing fantasy defenses through the first four games of the season, as Smith has thrown seven interceptions already while also taking 12 sacks.

The Colts are installed as seven-point home favorites and should enjoy another productive fantasy outing in Week 5. Treat them as a top-six fantasy D/ST for this weekend.

New York Giants DST vs. New Orleans Saints
16% Rostered

The New York Giants defense profiles as a streaming option in Week 5 in deeper leagues, despite their own struggles through the first four games. While the unit has performed poorly on paper, ranking 23rd in points allowed (25.3) and 29th in total yards allowed per game (388.5), they benefit from a premier matchup.

They travel to New Orleans to face a winless Saints offense that has been one of the league's worst. The Saints rank 28th in the NFL in scoring, averaging just 16.5 points per game, and have scored the second-fewest touchdowns in the league with only seven, making the Giants DST a high-floor play this week.

Dallas Cowboys DST vs. New York Jets
8% Rostered

Dallas Cowboys' defense has been the league's worst through the first four weeks--a result that doesn't come as much of a surprise. The Cowboys DST will try to turn things around against the New York Jets on Sunday.

While they've flashed stretches of tough play, the unit has been wildly inconsistent and is completely off the fantasy radar, better left on waivers. This week could be another rough outing for the defense, as they look to contain Jets quarterback Justin Fields.

Veteran Kenny Clark pointed to discipline and communication issues as key reasons behind the struggles, and the defense still seems to be searching for an identity. Despite the Cowboys' DST struggling this season, they are ranked 15th among team defenses and can be used as a streamer in deep leagues.

Miami Dolphins DST vs. Carolina Panthers
8% Rostered

The Miami Dolphins defense has a favorable matchup against the 1-3 Panthers, who will be without starting running back Chuba Hubbard (calf) in Week 5. The Panthers have been the sixth-best matchup in the league for opposing defenses, allowing six sacks and turning the ball over six times.

They have allowed a pair of DST touchdowns as well in just four games, so the Dolphins should have chances to make plays on the road in Carolina. Miami had three takeaways and two sacks last Monday against the Jets, and will look to put together another strong showing on Sunday.

They are the No. 17 D/ST in RotoBaller's rankings for this week and can be used as a bye-week fill-in in an emergency in deep leagues

Week 5 Defense Rankings and Tiers

Read more defense news and updates for Week 5

Who Should I Start Tool

You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.

Week 5 Defense Decisions. Today's focus is on specific team defenses - Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins. 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players 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 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 5 for defenses like the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins:

More Fantasy Football Analysis