Pittsburgh Steelers and 2 Other Must-Start Week 6 Fantasy Football Defenses
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The two most streamable positions in fantasy football are kickers and defenses. Today, we discuss defenses. Week 5 saw a mixed bag of teams at the top of the defensive rankings. The Saints led as DST1 while being owned in just 3% of leagues. The Commanders (6% owned) were the DST3 while the heavy hitters — Detroit Lions and Houston Texans — also finished at the top. In Week 6, these are some must-start candidates.
All ownership statistics are per ESPN Fantasy*
Pittsburgh Steelers (Vs CLE) - 74% Owned | 34% Started
The Browns are up against it facing the Steelers in Week 5. They played much better than expected versus the Vikings, but that was overseas. I doubt the Browns pull off a clean game two weeks in a row. The Steelers are 2nd in the NFL in takeaways per game and 2nd in sacks per game. The Steelers recently played the Vikings and sacked them six times. They also played the surging Patriots, but stuck them for 4 fumbles and 5 sacks. Now off a bye week, the Steelers have no reason to lack effort versus Cleveland.
Green Bay Packers (Vs CIN) - 46% Owned | 20% Started
The Packers are also coming off of the bye weeks with hunger in their appetite. The Packers have lost two games in a row following a hot start. The will now really bring it to the Bengals. I am a big proponent that momentum does not carry week-over-week, but in certain scenarios, it does. This is one of them. The losses shift a focus to crush the Bengals, especially in Green Bay.
The Packers rank 9th in sacks per game while the Bengals offensive line is notably worrisome. If they go with Flacco this week, the Packers have an even further boosted spot here. Jake Browning has 6 interceptions this season and Flacco has 8.
LA Rams (@ BAL) - 48% Owned | 38% Started
The Ravens are in a very tough spot with Cooper Rush at quarterback. I am baffled to see them still betting favorites to win the AFC North, but that is the way the cookie crumbles when the Steelers are the only threat.
Baltimore is a below-average unit without Lamar Jackson, and Jackson is not expected to play in Week 6. The Rams rank 10th in rushing yards per game allowed. They also rank 4th in run stop win rate while the Ravens are just 20th in run blocking win rate. The Rams matchup great and should hand Baltimore their 5th loss, causing further panic in Baltimore.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.