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Okay, this is it. If you're still alive, you can't afford to miss out at ANY position, including DST. In fact, ESPECIALLY DST. If you've made the championship, you've likely got a pretty good set of skill players, so DST is that one last magic cog that could be the difference between a title belt or ultimate defeat.
Below are RotoBaller's Week 16 playoff defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream, start and target off the waiver wire for Week 16 of the NFL and fantasy football season. In case you missed it, this is our seventh year now writing this weekly column.
Our weekly tiered defense rankings are a guide to making waiver wire pickups to improve your lineups, and to decide which defenses to start, sit, target, avoid or stream for Week 16. Starting the right defense every week can be a difference-maker. Below we have broken out our defense rankings into tiers with analysis on each matchup. Some of these Week 16 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 16 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 16 RotoBallers!
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Week 16 Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings
My rankings are pretty pure this week. Many of the top defenses have solid matchups, and their ranking reflects that. If you're still somehow streaming in the championship matchup, my top streamers are below:
| Rank | DST | Week 16 Opponent |
| 1 | Denver Broncos Defense | vs. DET |
| 2 | Atlanta Falcons Defense | vs. JAC |
| 3 | Los Angeles Chargers Defense | @ OAK |
| 4 | Indianapolis Colts Defense | vs. CAR |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs Defense | @ CHI |
| 6 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense | vs. HOU |
| 7 | Washington Redskins Defense | vs. NYG |
| 8 | Houston Texans Defense | @ TB |
| 9 | Detroit Lions Defense | @ DEN |
| 10 | Miami Dolphins Defense | vs. CIN |
Tier 1 Defenses
| Rank | Tier | DST | Week 16 Opponent |
| 1 | 1 | New England Patriots Defense | vs. BUF |
| 2 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers Defense | @ NYJ |
| 3 | 1 | New York Jets Defense | vs. PIT |
| 4 | 1 | Denver Broncos Defense | vs. DET |
Tier 2 Defenses
| Rank | Tier | DST | Week 16 Opponent |
| 5 | 2 | San Francisco 49ers Defense | vs. LAR |
| 6 | 2 | Atlanta Falcons Defense | vs. JAC |
| 7 | 2 | Buffalo Bills Defense | @ NE |
| 8 | 2 | Seattle Seahawks Defense | vs. ARI |
| 9 | 2 | Baltimore Ravens Defense | @ CLE |
Middle and Lower Tier Defenses
Tier 3 Defenses
| Rank | Tier | DST | Week 16 Opponent |
| 10 | 3 | Los Angeles Chargers Defense | @ OAK |
| 11 | 3 | Indianapolis Colts Defense | vs. CAR |
| 12 | 3 | Kansas City Chiefs Defense | @ CHI |
| 13 | 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense | vs. HOU |
| 14 | 3 | Philadelphia Eagles Defense | vs. DAL |
Tier 4 Defenses
| Rank | Tier | DST | Week 16 Opponent |
| 15 | 4 | Dallas Cowboys Defense | @ PHI |
| 16 | 4 | Los Angeles Rams Defense | @ SF |
| 17 | 4 | Washington Redskins Defense | vs. NYG |
| 18 | 4 | New Orleans Saints Defense | @ TEN |
| 19 | 4 | Houston Texans Defense | @ TB |
| 20 | 4 | Detroit Lions Defense | @ DEN |
| 21 | 4 | Jacksonville Jaguars Defense | @ ATL |
| 22 | 4 | Miami Dolphins Defense | vs. CIN |
Tier 5 Defenses
| Rank | Tier | DST | Week 16 Opponent |
| 23 | 5 | Green Bay Packers Defense | @ MIN |
| 24 | 5 | Oakland Raiders Defense | @LAC |
| 25 | 5 | Minnesota Vikings Defense | vs. GB |
| 26 | 5 | New York Giants Defense | @ WAS |
| 27 | 5 | Cincinnati Bengals Defense | @ MIA |
| 28 | 5 | Carolina Panthers Defense | @ IND |
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!
Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
