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Top Fantasy Football Streaming Defenses for Week 14

By Jason Schandl

Top streaming defenses for Week 14 fantasy football, including the Tennessee Titans.
Top streaming defenses for Week 14 fantasy football, including the Tennessee Titans. / Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
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Few defenses are true every-week starting options in fantasy football. That's why "streaming" the position, picking defenses off the waiver wire as needed every week, can be such a useful strategy.

Here are our top three defenses, rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo! fantasy leagues, to target as streaming options in Week 14.

Fantasy Defenses to Stream Week 14

3. San Francisco 49ers (vs WAS)

The Washington Football Team may have just upset the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they're still not exactly striking fear into opposing defenses. Alex Smith has been sacked 18 times despite not even playing six full games this season, and he's thrown more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (4). His comeback is a feel-good story, no doubt, but that doesn't impact the fantasy outlook here. The San Francisco 49ers' 21 sacks are tied for just 23rd in the NFL, but their pass rush is better than that makes it seem. They're generating a pressure (QB hit, sack or hurry) on 22.1% of their opponents' drop backs, which is tied for No. 17 in the NFL. They shouldn't have too much trouble continuing the trend of opposing defenses getting easy shots at Smith.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs MIN)

There was a time this season when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wouldn't have been dreamed of being a "streaming" defense, because they weren't going to be available on many waiver wires. Through Week 8, they were tied (with the Pittsburgh Steelers) for third among all defenses in fantasy points. They've since cooled off, but some of that has been thanks to a series of tough matchups. The Minnesota Vikings have allowed Kirk Cousins to be sacked at least once in every game this season, including 8 times in the last three weeks. The Tampa pass-rushing unit (No. 4 in the NFL in pressure rate) should be able to do some damage and bring back their standing as a respectable unit in fantasy football.

1. Tennessee Titans (at JAX)

The Jacksonville Jaguars dropped 30 the last time they played the Tennessee Titans, but that was with Gardner Minshew, not Mike Glennon, at the helm. A bust-turned-backup, Glennon boasts an uninspiring career average of 5.25 adjusted net yards per pass attempt. For context, that would rank No. 28 among qualifying passers this season (one spot ahead of Alex Smith, one behind Mitchell Trubisky). The Titans' D has struggled this year, but the last five weeks have included their two best fantasy scores of the year. The Jags' matchup is a great bounce-back spot, and FanDuel Sportsbook's Week 14 odds have the Titans as heavy 7.5-point favorites.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.