RADIO
Below are RotoBaller's Week 6 defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream and start for Week 6 of the NFL and fantasy football season. Our tiered defense rankings are your guide to making waiver wire pickups and adds to improve your lineups, and to decide which defenses to start, sit, target, avoid or stream for Week 6.
Are you looking for some assistance with your lineups? Not sure which defenses have good matchups for Week 6? Can't decide which defenses to target off the waiver wire, or whether you should stream a different defense for this week? No worries, we are here to help every week of the fantasy football season.
Starting the right defense every week can be a difference maker, so we have broken out our defense rankings into tiers with analysis on each matchup. Some of these Week 6 defenses have good matchups and are not widely owned, representing sleeper opportunities if they are available on your league's waiver wire for a Week 6 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 6 RotoBallers!
Week 6 Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings
Bye Weeks: St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys
Tier 1 Defenses: Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals
It's a good thing the Denver defense is elite, because Peyton Manning sure doesn't look it anymore. They have supplanted the Seahawks as the premier defense to fear, as they lead the NFL in sacks, forced fumbles, and yards allowed per game. Josh McCown looked great in Week 5, but I don't think that there's anything that can help him, Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell overcome this juggernaut.
The Cardinals lead the NFL in interceptions, and in a matchup against the Mike Vick-led Steelers they are easily a top-tier option. Aside from a 72-yard score on Monday Night, Vick hasn't been airing it out since he stepped in for Ben Roethlisberger, effectively neutralizing Antonio Brown and the other Pittsburgh pass-catchers. The only problem the Cardinals might have is in stopping Le'Veon Bell, but I don't think it'll matter much. This one smells like a blowout chock-full of desperation throws for Arizona to feast on.
Tier 2 Defenses: Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots
The Seahawks don't look as scary today as they did in Week 3. The red-hot red-head Andy Dalton proved that the Seahawks can be beaten both through the air and on the ground, and they'll have to tangle with a resurgent Cam Newton in Week 6. Unfortunately, Newton is pretty much their only play-maker, and the Seahawks have the supreme matchup advantage everywhere else on the field. Jonathan Stewart, Ted Ginn and Philly Brown certainly won't beat the Legion of Boom, and if they can contain Greg Olsen this one could get ugly.
Starting the Carolina Panthers defense could also prove very lucrative. It sounds as though Marshawn Lynch will play in Week 6, but whether or not he's 100% remains to be seen. Russell Wilson, Jimmy Graham and the rest of the passing attack doesn't scare anyone, and I imagine the Panthers will focus on stopping the run, whether it's Lynch or rookie Thomas Rawls carrying the mail. I think it's too much to ask for a touchdown, but a couple of sacks and an interception? Much more likely.
The Jets get the Redskins at home in Week 6, and I'm projecting them for success based entirely on the matchup. The Redskins rely entirely on their ground game, and will continue to do so against the ball-hawking New York secondary. If they can shut down Alfred Morris, Matt Jones and the surprising Chris Thompson, the Redskins will struggle to put up 14 total points, giving this defensive unit a very high floor.
The Vikings get the Chiefs in their first game without star running back Jamaal Charles, which should mean a big day for the Minnesota defense. Charcandrick West and Knile Davis will now be tasked with carrying the ball, and the Chiefs will be forced to lean on Alex Smith, Jeremy Maclin and Travis Kelce to move the ball down the field. Smith is smart with the ball and there likely won't be many turnovers in this game, but the Vikings should be able to put him on his back a few times. Another high-floor matchup for streaming purposes.
Tier 3 Defenses: Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Packers defense has been surprisingly fantasy-friendly in 2015, as they've racked up 20 sacks and eight interceptions in just five games. To be fair, four of those picks came in last week's blowout of the Rams, but they've had at least one interception in every game this season. This week they'll be tasked with shutting down Philip Rivers and the newly-reinstated Antonio Gates, who looked like an absolute force in Week 5. Rivers does have seven turnovers through his first five games, so it's likely that the Packers will be able to force at least one or two more.
The Eagles will get to see Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr. and the rest of the Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 6, and I like their chances to come away with at least a modest fantasy day. Through five games they've already intercepted six passes and recovered seven fumbles, and I like their chances to come away with a few more turnovers. Their return game is also ever-lethal with Darren Sproles returning kicks.
The Falcons have been a solid fantasy D/ST lately thanks in large part to three touchdowns over the last two weeks. Obviously you can't bank on that happening again, but what you can bank on is the struggles of the New Orleans offense right now. Drew Brees can't seem to get anything going with Brandin Cooks (he's been looking at Willie Snead instead) and Mark Ingram and C.J. Spiller have been held in check. The Falcons will likely be up big again as well, forcing Brees to make some desperation throws.
The Bills defense has vexed many fantasy owners, as they were expected to be one of the top scorers after leading the league in sacks last season. Unfortunately they've only been above-average, and will likely be just average against Andy Dalton and the Bengals in Week 6. Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard won't have much room to work, but Dalton has been brutalizing his opponents with A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert. Expect more of the same this Sunday.
The Bengals have been similarly disappointing, as they have only eight total turnovers through five games. With Sammy Watkins and LeSean McCoy still hurt, Cincinnati will need to focus on containing Tyrod Taylor and his favorite target Charles Clay. It can be done, but I'm not counting on the Bengals to do it. Look elsewhere in shallow leagues.
I talked up the Jaguars defense and it bit me in the rear end in a big way last week. Doug Martin absolutely torched them on the ground, and this week they'll get a healthy and angry Arian Foster. I don't like their chances of containing either him or DeAndre Hopkins, but Brian Hoyer is prone to turning the ball over, and the Jags could get a few gifts thrown their way.
Tier 4 Defenses: Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns
The Lions make this list simply because I'm not sold on the Bears being a legitimate NFL offense yet, even with Jay Cutler back healthy. They've shut down Alshon Jeffery through the bye, leaving very little for Cutler to work with. The Lions will have to focus on Matt Forte first and foremost, but after that there is little that should scare them. They'll get to Cutler a few times for sure.
The Giants just got roughed up by Colin Kaepernick and a bad 49ers squad, and I don't have much hope for them against an Eagles offense that looked more than capable last week. Their only hope is getting to Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray early, which is possible given how poor the Eagels' offensive line play has been. This is a low-ceiling, high-floor play for me.
The Ravens now get that same 49ers offense, a unit that I still think was more lucky than good in Week 5. Carlos Hyde and Anquan Boldin are the only true threats on that team, and their production is entirely dependent on Kaepernick playing like an NFL quarterback and not...whatever he's been doing lately. The Ravens won't blow them out, but they can force a few turnovers for sure.
The Browns are my defensive Hail Mary pick of the week. They host Denver in Week 6, and as much as it pains me to say it I think it's time we start considering streaming against the Broncos. Peyton Manning looks like he's knocking on the door of retirement, and neither Ronnie Hillman nor C.J. Anderson have been of any use on the ground. If you're desperate in a deep league, roll the dice on the Browns this week.
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.
