Top 5 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Defenses (Week 7)

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 check out all of our fantasy football waiver wire pickups and advice for Week 7.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Defenses

Defenses

Written by Pat Fitzmaurice

New England Patriots: 48% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @TEN, CLE, ATL
• True Value: $4
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-Minded: $2

Analysis: The Patriots face rookie quarterbacks in talent-deprived offenses over the next two weeks. This week, they get No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward and the Titans. Ward has been a sack magnet, absorbing a league-high 25 sacks. He’s also thrown four interceptions and has lost four fumbles. The Titans are averaging 13.8 points per game. In Week 8, the Patriots draw third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel and the Browns. Gabriel has taken eight sacks in his first two NFL starts and is averaging just 4.8 yards per pass attempt. The Patriots’ defense entered Week 6 ranked eighth in fantasy points per game.

Cleveland Browns: 37% Rostered

• Next Opponents: MIA, @NE, BYE
• True Value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: Although the Browns’ defense hasn’t been especially good for fantasy this season, it’s a high-quality unit led by EDGE rusher extraordinaire Myles Garrett. Cleveland ranked sixth in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) entering Week 6. The Browns host the Dolphins in Week 7, welcoming Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa into the Dawg Pound. He has thrown seven interceptions in six games and has been sacked 13 times.

Seattle Seahawks: 47% Rostered

• Next Opponents: HOU, BYE, @WSH
• True Value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: Seattle has a talented defense, and Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is one of the better defensive schemers in the league. Despite being without three starters in the secondary in Week 6, the Seahawks held the Jaguars to 12 points and just four yards per play in an impressive road win. Seattle sacked Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence seven times. The Seahawks get a Week 6 date against the Texans and their porous offensive line, which ranks at or near the bottom of the league in most offensive line metrics. Before the Texans dropped 44 points on the Ravens in Week 5, Houston had averaged 16 points a game.

Carolina Panthers: 1% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @NYJ, BUF, @GB
• True Value: $1
• Desperate Need: $1
• Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: The Panthers have a below-average defense, but their Week 7 matchup against the Jets gives them streaming appeal. Jets signal-caller Justin Fields struggled mightily against the Broncos in London on Sunday, completing 9-of-17 passes for 45 yards. Fields was sacked nine times in that game, and the Jets finished with -10 net passing yards and 82 total yards. Fields has been a sack magnet for much of his career, and he’s been dropped 14 times in his last two games.

Chicago Bears: 5% Rostered

• Next Opponents: NO, @BAL, @CIN
• True Value: $0
• Desperate Need: $1
• Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: Chicago’s defense has produced 10+ points in three of its first four games. The Bears are a low-level streaming option this week with a home game against New Orleans. Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler has been surprisingly good at keeping mistakes to a minimum, with only one interception and 11 sacks in his first six games. But New Orleans is averaging just 18.5 points per game.