Unless most of the teams in your league carry a backup defense, more than half of the league should be available to you every week. Perhaps instead of playing one above average defense every week, regardless of matchup, we should instead target the widely available waiver wire defenses with the best matchups in any particular week? You can always make exceptions if your rent-a-defense gets hot - heck, you might find a team worth starting all year by accident. Even if you don't, good matchups will continue to get greater in number as more QBs get injured or yanked as the season goes on. You can steal some points from bad weather come December. Each week I'll list the startable fantasy defenses on most waiver wires and rank them.
Week 1 Candidates
**Note: Kansas City, New England, Chicago, and Houston all have nice matchups, but their ADP puts them in the group of team defenses that were drafted in the majority of leagues**
Detroit (vs New York Giants)
Lots of factors converge here to make this the #1 rent-a-defense for Week 1. The Lions have a ferocious defensive line that can get after the quarterback and stifle the run. The Giants are installing a new offense and the early returns are that it will be choppy. The game will be on a Monday night in front a frenzied dome crowd. Eli Manning.
A Look Ahead: @CAR, GB, @NYJ - One and done.
Pittsburgh (vs Cleveland)
Maybe it’s my upbringing as a Western Pennsylvania born and bred Steelers fan, but Cleveland coming to Pittsburgh usually means very bad things for the Browns. They have scored 20 points in their last three visits to Pittsburgh and 44 in their last 6. They once had a 16-year losing streak in Pittsburgh. The quarterback play for Cleveland in the preseason was mostly a nightmare, and the Steelers home crowd will surely turn up the heat
A Look Ahead: @BAL, @CAR, TB - It’s going to hard to go back to the well on the road at Baltimore, but if they help you in Week 1, perhaps the Steelers D will be worth a hold.
New York Jets (vs Oakland)
It’s funny when the streaming defense crowd is disappointed that a defense will get the rookie instead of the veteran quarterback. Matt Schaub looked poised for another pick six meltdown after a horrendous preseason, but the Schaub era in Oakland was nipped in the bud when Derek Carr rose to the occasion in the last exhibition game. Still, Carr hasn’t seen anything like the blitzes Rex Ryan will throw at him, and the Jets defensive line should manhandle the Raiders ragtag offensive line.
A Look Ahead: @GB CHI DET - You’ll want to leave the Jets on the waiver wire for their trip through ¾ of the NFC North.
Philadelphia (vs Jacksonville)
The Eagles defense isn’t fearsome by any measure, but they’ll be at home facing Chad Henne, and they are likely to unveil some looks that the Jaguars poor defense will not be prepared to defend. If Philadelphia jumps out to a lead, then the turnovers and sacks will come whether it’s Henne or the regular season debut of Blake Bortles.
A Look Ahead: @IND WAS @SF - If Washington is still struggling by Week 3, we could come back to the Eagles as an option.
Week 2 Pre-emptive Pickups
If you like to devote two roster spots to a D/ST, or you suspect other teams are going to stream defenses this year, you might want to grab a top option for the following week to stash away. Here are the best ones to target:
Buffalo (vs Miami)
Washington (vs Jacksonville)
Green Bay (vs NY Jets)