Kate Magdziuk shares her Week 10 defense rankings and highlights several streaming options that could be available in your leagues.
Welcome to Week 10 of the fantasy football season! We’ve got four teams on a bye this week (Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders), which means that two top-10 D/STs (GB, SEA) are off the board in your fantasy matchups. That means dipping into the well and examining sleeper options you may not otherwise consider.
To help set your lineups this week, here’s a look at several sleeper options, as well as Week 10 defense rankings to consider.
The Los Angeles Chargers have been a frequent addition to the defense streamers column this season, as both a generally underrated defensive unit and having had several favorable matchups to this point in the season. Week 10 is no exception, as they’ll face the Tennessee Titans, who are giving up a league-high 11.5 fantasy points per game to opposing D/STs.
The Chargers are the fifth-highest-scoring fantasy defense this season, having faced a league-low 41 red-zone plays and nine goal-line plays. This defense ranks top-10 in average yards per play allowed (5.1) and sacks generated (26) while allowing a league-low 22.2% scoring-drive percentage. Put them up against a unit that ranks top-five in turnovers (17) and bottom three in scoring drive percentage (27.1%) and you should have a match made in heaven.
Surprise fact of the day — the New York Giants defense is actually outscoring the New York Jets defense this season. You know, that Jets defense that was selected, on average, as the third defense off of draft boards? Yeah, that one!
Thanks to Defensive Player of the Year candidate Dexter Lawrence and star edge rusher Brian Burns, the Giants lead the NFL in sacks this season. They’ve combined for 65 total pressures this season per PFF. In the rest of the metrics to be analyzed like offensive turnovers forced (7) and successful play percentage allowed (35.3%), this unit has ranked middle of the pack ... but their ability to get to the quarterback and force mistakes against a mistake-prone quarterback should not be underestimated.
In four starts with Bryce Young under center, they’ve produced a league-low 19.6% scoring drive percentage and -0.298 EPA per play while averaging the third-lowest yards per play allowed (4.4). He’s now lost Diontae Johnson as his top wide receiver (traded to Baltimore) and Jonathan Mingo (sent to Dallas) — not a great sign of things to come.
The New Orleans Saints are ... in an interesting spot heading into Week 10, having just fired their head coach Dennis Allen, likely without star wide receiver Chris Olave, who suffered a concerning concussion and could miss some time. They lost WR Rashid Shaheed to a season-ending knee injury back in Week 6. Yeah... they’re down bad.
The Atlanta Falcons aren’t a top-end NFL defense, primarily struggling in the pass rush, but they do have plenty of talent in coverage with Jessie Bates III and Justin Simmons at safety and A.J. Terrell and Mike Hughes at cornerback. Given their stance against a middle-of-the-pack offense that’s been depleted by injury, they’ve emerged as a top streaming option for Week 10.
| # | Player (team) | Matchup | ECR | vs. ECR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Chargers (LAC) | vs. TEN | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings (MIN) | at JAC | 4 | +2 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Eagles (PHI) | at DAL | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Buffalo Bills (BUF) | at IND | 6 | +2 |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs (KC) | vs. DEN | 3 | -2 |
| 6 | Chicago Bears (CHI) | vs. NE | 5 | -1 |
| 7 | San Francisco 49ers (SF) | at TB | 9 | +2 |
| 8 | New York Giants (NYG) | at CAR | 7 | -1 |
| 9 | Detroit Lions (DET) | at HOU | 8 | -1 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers (PIT) | at WAS | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | New York Jets (NYJ) | at ARI | 11 | 0 |
| 12 | Washington Commanders (WAS) | vs. PIT | 12 | 0 |
| 13 | Atlanta Falcons (ATL) | at NO | 13 | 0 |
| 14 | Denver Broncos (DEN) | at KC | 14 | 0 |
| 15 | New England Patriots (NE) | at CHI | 18 | +3 |
| 16 | Los Angeles Rams (LAR) | vs. MIA | 16 | 0 |
| 17 | Baltimore Ravens (BAL) | vs. CIN | 17 | 0 |
| 18 | Arizona Cardinals (ARI) | vs. NYJ | 15 | -3 |
| 19 | Houston Texans (HOU) | vs. DET | 20 | +1 |
| 20 | New Orleans Saints (NO) | vs. ATL | 21 | +1 |
| 21 | Carolina Panthers (CAR) | vs. NYG | 19 | -2 |
| 22 | Tennessee Titans (TEN) | at LAC | 25 | +3 |
| 23 | Indianapolis Colts (IND) | vs. BUF | 23 | 0 |
| 24 | Jacksonville Jaguars (JAC) | vs. MIN | 22 | -2 |
| 25 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB) | vs. SF | 24 | -1 |
| 26 | Miami Dolphins (MIA) | at LAR | 26 | 0 |
| 27 | Dallas Cowboys (DAL) | vs. PHI | 27 | 0 |
| 28 | Cincinnati Bengals (CIN) | at BAL | 28 | 0 |
Kate Magdziuk is an editor and contributor for Yahoo Fantasy and co-host of the Locked On Dynasty Football podcast. She is also the managing editor for Behind The Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s exclusive Pittsburgh Steelers blog. Her previous bylines include Pro Football Focus, NBC Sports Rotoworld and 4for4 Football, among others.
