Top 5 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Defenses (Week 3)

We will have you covered throughout the fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential fantasy football waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top fantasy football waiver wire defenses to target for the week below. And here is all of our fantasy football waiver wire advice for Week 3.

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Defenses

Defenses

Written by Pat Fitzmaurice

Seattle Seahawks: 23% Rostered

Next Opponents: NO, @ARI, TB
True Value: $2
Desperate Need: $3
Budget-Minded: 1

Analysis: This is the best streaming option for Week 3 among the widely available defenses. Head coach Mike Macdonald presides over a talented defense that has allowed only 17 points to each of its first two opponents, the 49ers and Steelers. Seattle gets a juicy matchup this week, hosting New Orleans. Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler has by no means been a disaster in his first two starts of 2025, but Rattler is a former fifth-round draft pick who threw more interceptions than touchdown passes as a rookie in 2024 and took 22 sacks in his six starts. The Seahawks are also a playable option against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals in Week 4.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6% Rostered

Next Opponents: NYJ, PHI, @SEA
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $2
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: The Tampa Bay defense is typically a solid unit under head coach Todd Bowles, playing tough against the run and harassing quarterbacks with frequent blitzes. Heavy blitzing can backfire against high-quality passers, but the Buccaneers don’t have to worry about that this week. They get a home game against the Jets, and it’s unclear whether Jets quarterback Justin Fields will be able to play in Week 3 after sustaining a concussion. Fields was sharp against the Steelers in Week 1 but struggled against the Bills in Week 2, completing 3-of-11 passes for 27 yards and absorbing a pair of sacks. If Fields can’t go, he’ll be replaced by 36-year-old Tyrod Taylor, who hasn’t started a game in two years. In five 2023 starts for the Giants, Taylor took 16 sacks and threw two interceptions.

Atlanta Falcons: 1% Rostered

Next Opponents: @CAR, WSH, BYE
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $1
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: The Atlanta defense is a work in progress — better against the run than it is against the pass, though the hope is that rookie first-round EDGE rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. finally give the Falcons’ pass rush some teeth. The real appeal here is a Week 3 matchup against Carolina. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has already thrown three interceptions and has been sacked four times.

Indianapolis Colts: 7% Rostered

Next Opponents: @TEN, @LAR, LV
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $1
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: The jury is still out on the Colts’ defense, a middling unit in 2024 that has played reasonably well in a pair of wins to start the 2025 campaign. What makes Indianapolis a solid Week 3 streaming option is a matchup against rookie quarterback Cam Ward and the Titans in Nashville. Ward is talented, but he’s still trying to find his NFL sea legs. Through two games, Ward has completed 31-of-61 passes for 287 yards and one touchdown. Ward hasn’t thrown an interception yet, but he’s already been sacked 11 times and has fumbled twice.

Los Angeles Chargers: 49% Rostered

Next Opponents: DEN, @NYG, WSH
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $1
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: The Chargers’ defense ranked ninth in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) last season and did respectable work against the Chiefs in Week 1. They’re a decent two-week play, with games coming up against a slightly out-of-sync Denver offense in Week 3 and a Jekyll and Hyde Giants offense in Week 4.