Breakdowns
11/2/21
4 min read
Fantasy Football: Streaming Defenses and Kickers – Week 9
Bye weeks ramp back up this week, doubling from two to four, but there still should be options aplenty, even if there is a slight struggle to find great options at defense below 50% ownership rate. Below I will break down the best matchups for streaming for Week 9 at both defense and kicker and the reasons why I feel they are great options.
Defense:
Las Vegas Raiders (@ NYG)
Las Vegas has a favorable matchup coming out of the bye to show off their defense that was much improved going into the bye. They have multiple sacks in every game this season and now get a matchup against a Giants offense that is middle of the pack in allowing sacks. The Giants have allowed 25 fantasy points to defenses over the last three weeks and definitely seem like a good matchup to target for this week, especially with the injury problems that just keep increasing.
Philadelphia Eagles (vs. LAC)
The Eagles defense returns to this list for a second straight week after a dominant performance against the Lions last week. The matchup with the Chargers this week isn’t close to as favorable, but they have quietly allowed 22 points to defenses in their last two games as their offense has started to struggle. With the explosiveness in that offense, this is undoubtedly a risky start, but one that has legitimate potential because of the recent trends of both teams.
Miami Dolphins (vs. HOU)
The Dolphins defense has been extremely disappointing all season, currently ranking 26th out of defenses in fantasy. Despite this, there is still lots of talent on this defense and they get an extremely favorable matchup against a Houston team that is tied for the second-best offense to match up with. With 29 points against over the last three weeks, Miami is a great option for this week if Davis Mills remains the starting QB. If Tyrod Taylor returns, this is probably one to avoid because he decreases the likelihood of takeaways while also simply improving the offense.
Kickers:
Daniel Carlson (@ NYG)
Similar to last week with Greg Joseph and Greg Zuerlein, Daniel Carlson is on this list only because he’s coming off a bye week, as otherwise he would be owned in well over 50% of leagues. If he is unowned in your league, you are going to want to add him. He’s been the sixth best kicker this season by weekly scoring average and comes out of the bye with a favorable matchup against a Giants team ranking in the bottom half in terms of fantasy points allowed to kickers. Get Carlson into your lineup and expect 9+ points, a total he’s reached in five out of seven games so far.
Randy Bullock (@ LAR)
Unlike with Carlson, Randy Bullock isn’t coming off a bye, but he is still somehow available in nearly 70% of leagues despite being the third best kicker by points per game. Bullock has been incredibly consistent, especially recently, with 11, 11, and 12 in his last three weeks. He’s a kicker that you can feel extremely comfortable keeping in your lineup every week he has a game, something you don’t easily find available at this point in the season.
Jake Elliott (vs. LAC)
Unlike the other two choices, Elliott has not been one of the best kickers in fantasy this season. This is almost entirely a matchup play, although Elliott’s 16 point performance this week showed his upside and gave some hope going forward. As for the matchup, it is the third best possible matchup for a fantasy kicker and one that was just exploited for 15 fantasy points. If you can’t get one of the top two options on this list, Elliott is a very good matchup play for the week.
