3 Late-Round Defenses to Target in Your Fantasy Football Draft

Los Angeles Chargers

Week 1 - at Denver Broncos
Week 2 - vs Miami Dolphins

At first glance, the Los Angeles Chargers may not appear to have a soft opening schedule, but they do draw the Denver Broncos to start things off, a division rival against whom they had success against last year. After that, they host a Miami Dolphins team with the recently un-retired Jay Cutler expected to be under center.

In each of their matchups against the Broncos last season, the Chargers finished among the top three defenses. Their defense was so productive from a fantasy perspective because they forced multiple turnovers both times against the Trevor Siemian-led Broncos.

But it wasn't just against the Broncos that the Chargers were able to wreak havoc in the turnover department -- they had the most interceptions and ninth-most fumble recoveries among all defenses last year.

With Siemian looking like the favorite to start Week 1 for the Broncos, the Chargers defense could continue to be one of the league's best in forcing turnovers.

After that matchup, Los Angeles will then welcome Cutler and the Dolphins in Week 2. Cutler had one of his most efficient seasons with Adam Gase in 2015 (he only threw 11 interceptions in 15 games), but he took a step back in 2016. The veteran signal-caller played just five games last year, throwing for only four touchdowns and five interceptions before a shoulder injury ended his season. Oh, and he was retired up until less than a week ago.

While there is plenty of time left for injuries to impact the streaming defense landscape, a matchup against Cutler is exciting for a turnover-forcing defense like the Chargers.