Top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Defenses (Week 13)

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 are all of our fantasy football waiver wire pickups for NFL Week 13.

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Defenses

Defenses

Written by Pat Fitzmaurice

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 22% Rostered

Next Opponents: ARI, NO, ATL
True Value: $3
Desperate Need: $6
Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: You might just be able to ride the Buccaneers the rest of the way. Their opponents for the rest of the fantasy season are the Cardinals, Saints, Falcons, Panthers and Dolphins. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett has thrown three interceptions and taken 24 sacks in his six starts for Arizona. The Buccaneers entered Week 12 ranked 11th in defensive fantasy points per game with 7.3.

Jacksonville Jaguars: 42% Rostered

Next Opponents: @TEN, IND, NYJ
True Value: $2
Desperate Need: $5
Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: The Jaguars have been a top-10 fantasy defense for most of the season, benefitting from a bevy of forced turnovers. They’ve forced 18 turnovers thus far, though 13 of them came in the first four weeks. The real appeal here, however, is a Week 13 matchup against the Titans, who have allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses. Tennessee rookie quarterback Cam Ward has taken an NFL-high 45 sacks and has thrown six interceptions.

Los Angeles Chargers: 38% Rostered

Next Opponents: LV, PHI, @KC
True Value: $2
Desperate Need: $4
Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: The Chargers rank outside the top 20 in defensive fantasy scoring, but it’s the Week 13 matchup with the Raiders that has our attention. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith has been an interception machine. He’s been picked off 13 times this season and has been sacked 41 times. The Browns sacked Smith 10 times on Sunday. The Las Vegas offensive line is an injury-riddled mess. This is a great spot for the Chargers defense.

San Francisco 49ers: 23% Rostered

Next Opponents: @CLE, BYE, TEN
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $2
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: The 49ers entered Week 13 ranked dead last in the league in sacks (12), sack rate (2.9%) and pressure rate (13.1%). But a Week 13 matchup against the Browns gives the San Francisco defense streaming appeal. It doesn’t matter if Cleveland’s starting quarterback is rookie Dillon Gabriel (who missed Week 12 with a concussion) or rookie Shedeur Sanders, who has thrown two interceptions and taken three sacks over the last two weeks.

Atlanta Falcons: 49% Rostered

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

Analysis: Week 13 ends a long stretch of favorable matchups for the Atlanta defense. With 39 sacks on the year, the Falcons have a potent pass rush. Atlanta gets a favorable Week 13 matchup with the Jets, who have averaged just 232 yards of offense over their last three games.

Miami Dolphins: 2% Rostered

Next Opponents: NO, @NYJ, @PIT
True Value: $1
Desperate Need: $2
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: Miami’s defense has scored 22 fantasy points over its last two games and now gets a friendly two-week stretch against the Saints and Jets.

New York Jets: 8% Rostered

Next Opponents: ATL, MIA, @JAX
True Value: $0
Desperate Need: $1
Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: The Jets are a bottom-five team in defensive fantasy scoring, but they’re a reasonable cost-cutting option for Week 13 thanks to a matchup with Atlanta. Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins threw one interception and was sacked three times on Sunday in the Falcons’ 24-10 win over the Saints.

Defense Stash Candidates

New Orleans Saints

A sneaky stash for the fantasy playoffs, the Saints get the Panthers, Jets and Titans in Weeks 15-17. You can probably land them with a zero-dollar bid if you have the roster space to stash a second defense.