October 25, 2016

Bill's fantasy football rankings for Week 8 defenses (DEF) -- streamers, starts, sits and D/ST waiver wire pickups to add. His Week 8 (2016) tiers and ranks for all NFL defenses.

Below are RotoBaller's Week 8 defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream, start and target at the end of your 2016 drafts for Week 8 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 8.

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 8 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 8 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 8, RotoBallers!

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 8 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

Week 8 Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings

Teams on bye: Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants

 
Tier 1 Defenses

1. Minnesota Vikings (@ CHI)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (@ IND)
3. Denver Broncos (vs. SD)

There's not much contest here, as the Vikings DST continues to dominate. They get Smokin' Jay Cutler and the Bears this week, which means there is a ton of turnover potential. The Bears o-line is nothing special, and I expect at least three sacks out of the Vikings. They're pretty much in "set it and forget it" territory now.

 
Tier 2 Defenses

4. Arizona Cardinals (@ CAR)
5. Seattle Seahawks (@ NO)
6. Philadelphia Eagles (@ DAL)
7. Dallas Cowboys (vs. PHI)
8. New York Jets (@ CLE)

The Seahawks have continued to look dominant, but it'll be an "unstoppable object meets an immovable force" scenario when they get the Saints at the Superdome this week.I'd put them in the top tier this week, but there is certainly potential for Brees and company to get hot and light up the scoreboard, as the home/road splits for the Saints offense continue to be absurd. Ultimately I still think the Seahawks keep things under control and get to Brees a few times.

The Jets DST has been incredibly disappointing, but going against--who is it now? Josh McCown? Kevin Hogan? Cookie Monster in pads? The Browns offense simply won't do that much damage, and the Jets should at least have a couple of turnovers in the bag. If they can't do it this week, then...well, I don't know.

 
Tier 3 Defenses

9. Tennessee Titans (vs. JAX)
10. New England Patriots (@ BUF)
11. Oakland Raiders (@ TB)
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (@ TEN)
13. Atlanta Falcons (vs. GB)

I love the Titans this week, as these GD Thursday night games are always a total schlock-fest. Blake Bortles is a total mess mechanically, and I would be shocked if the Titans have fewer than two turnovers. There is also plenty of sack potential here, and it's not like the Jaguars run game will magically figure things out. Upside for days here.

Atlanta's DST has been sneakily productive from a fantasy standpoint in recent weeks, and with the Packers offense still looking a bit flummoxed I think there is potential here in a week with six teams on bye. The Falcons have actually tallied 11 sacks in the last three weeks, and the Packers still don't have much of a rushing element. If the secondary can hold up even a little bit, this could be a streamable defense.

 
Tier 4 Defenses

14. Buffalo Bills (vs. NE)
15. Houston Texans (vs. DET)
16. Green Bay Packers (@ ATL)
17. San Diego Chargers (@ DEN)
18. Washington Redskins (@ CIN)