Fantasy Football Streaming Defenses to Draft for Week 1: One Team Stands Out

Other than kicker, defense/special teams groups are often the most ignored part of fantasy football. Fantasy owners don't spend nearly as much time deciding on their starting defense each week as they do the skill players, and many experts recommend waiting to pick your D/ST until the final two rounds (along with your kicker).

That doesn't mean it doesn't matter, though, as we see examples every season in which a defense has a huge performance and swings many fantasy matchups by scoring multiple touchdowns or racking up five takeaways or 10 sacks. Finding a defensive group facing a vulnerable offense can win your week if you're studious and get a little lucky.

Many owners plan to stream defenses based on matchups, and that starts in Week 1. Taking your favorite defense doesn't always make sense if they are facing the Bills to start the season, for instance, and it's better to be more selective and enter your draft with a plan.

Let's look at some defense/special teams units that have strong matchups over the first three weeks of the season based on 2025's numbers and expectations early this year. Most stats are from NFL.com, past fantasy points and rankings are from FantasyPros, and I will be using ADP rankings from ESPN.

Make sure to check out our look at fantasy kickers to draft if you are planning on streaming the position.

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Strong Week 1 Matchups

• Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Browns)
• Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Dolphins)
• Miami Dolphins (@ Raiders)
• New York Jets (@ Titans)
• Tennessee Titans (vs. Jets)

A lot of our options here are projected poor teams that are facing each other to start the season. We don't know yet which will be the worst offensive teams in 2026, but there's a good chance that the Raiders, Dolphins, Jets, and Titans finish among the bottom 10 teams in scoring (as they all did last season).

None of the four defenses might be very good either; they were all among the top 10 in most points allowed in 2025. Again, things could be different this season, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see any or all of them struggle again on defense. This is all about the matchup and the chance to attack a poor offense that might be susceptible to turnovers and sacks. If nothing else, a low-scoring game could be on the docket.

Each of those four D/ST squads finished in the bottom 12 in fantasy scoring and is being drafted among the 12 lowest defenses, essentially undrafted in every league. That means that you can probably grab one of them in the final two rounds with no issue and start off with a good matchup. They are all probably just one-week options, though, as those teams play the Chargers (Raiders), 49ers (Dolphins), Packers (Jets), and Eagles (Titans) in Week 2; there's not a ton of value drafting those four squads outside of the good first matchup.

Jacksonville is a different story, as they finished third in fantasy scoring last season and allowed the eighth-fewest points. The Browns scored the second-fewest points last season and seem likely to be among the worst offensive teams again while counting on Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and a lot of unproven talent. The Jags don't have good matchups coming after Week 1, though, facing the Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, Eagles, Texans, Colts, and Ravens before a reprieve against Tennessee on November 15. This seems like another one-week defensive group, which might be why they are being drafted 14th among D/ST units.

Possibly Good Matchups Early

• Atlanta Falcons
• Chicago Bears
• Green Bay Packers

These three teams all play offenses right away that could possibly struggle but are far from the bottom-feeders that we talked about above. They are all being drafted at D/ST18 or later, again allowing an owner to grab them within the final few picks.

Atlanta starts with the Steelers followed by the Panthers. Pittsburgh was right in the middle in scoring and yards per rush attempt, and they averaged the eighth-fewest yards per pass attempt last season. Now, they're counting on a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers and an offensive group that's good but not great. Michael Pittman was a good pickup, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them as a below-average offense again.

Carolina scored the sixth-fewest points in 2026 and had the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt. They were in the middle in rushing, but losing Rico Dowdle, who had three games with at least 130 rushing yards, might hurt (though the return of Jonathon Brooks may help). They made the playoffs, but I don't believe in the Panthers as an above-average offense.

The Bears start out with that same Panthers team in Week 1, and they follow it up with the Vikings in Week 2. Minnesota scored the seventh-fewest points and had the seventh-fewest yards per pass attempt last season, but they were above average running the ball. They expect better quarterback play with Kyler Murray under center, and the Vikes have a strong receiving corps, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them throw the ball much better. I'm skeptical of targeting Minnesota until we see them in action.

Green Bay starts with the Vikings and then gets the Jets in Week 2. That's a solid start, and then they get the Falcons in Week 3, a team with talent on offense but also uncertainty at quarterback. Atlanta scored the ninth-fewest points last season, and if their play under center is suspect, they might fall into that bottom-10 group again. Even though I'm not super excited about facing Minnesota in Week 1, I really like the outlook for the Packers' D/ST otherwise.

Weeks 2 and 3 Streamers

• Carolina Panthers
• San Francisco 49ers

The Panthers start with a tougher matchup against the Bears, but they then get the Falcons and Browns, two teams we have already talked about. If you don't mind spending a roster spot, you could grab Carolina in the draft and hold onto them for a week before putting them into your lineup for Weeks 2 and 3. More likely, you will be able to let the Panthers go undrafted then pick them up for those good matchups before dropping them again; they play the Lions, Eagles, Bucs, Packers, and Broncos after that, teams you probably don't want to mess with.

The 49ers are being drafted in the middle and might get taken depending on how deep your league is. They start with a really tough matchup against the Rams, but San Francisco then gets the Dolphins and Cardinals in Weeks 2 and 3. Arizona is another group with a few talented players on offense but maybe not the necessary top-end talent to put up big points. While they had some big passing games with Jacoby Brissett under center last season, I expect the Cards to be a well-below-average offensive team overall and provide value for streaming defenses.

My Favorite Early Defense

• Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers' D/ST is being drafted just outside the top 10, so you might need to grab them a round earlier than the final two picks, but it might be worth it given their early matchups. LA starts off with Arizona before facing the Raiders in Week 2; those might be two of the five worst offenses in football. As we've seen with some other teams, things quickly change, as their next seven games are against the Bills, Seahawks, Broncos, Chiefs, Rams, Texans, and Ravens before finally hosting the Jets on November 22.

You might not use the Chargers again after the first two weeks, but if you are planning to stream defenses, there might not be a better group to start with than Los Angeles. Streaming is all about matchups, and it doesn't get much better than the start the Chargers have this season.