3 FanDuel Defenses to Target in Week 2
Selecting a defense is never the most glamorous part of fantasy football. It often goes overlooked for the more fun positions that people want to watch and root for during the game. The good news is that if our opponents aren’t putting too much thought into their defense, we can gain an advantage with some research. So let’s dig in and try to identify some defenses that could be in a good position to score fantasy points this week.
Week 1 gave us some ideas on how team defenses will operate and perform. It also gave us some information about which offenses we should look to target by rostering defenses against them. Let's see which teams fit the bill in Week 2.
Buffalo Bills
FanDuel Salary: $4,900
If you're spending up at the position, the Buffalo D/ST is in a good spot again. We were on them in Week 1, and they played pretty well in getting eight points. They recorded three sacks, had an interception and a fumble recovery in their win against the New York Jets. They allowed 17 points, which actually doesn't reflect how well they played for most of the game, as one of the touchdowns the Jets scored was just the result of a few missed tackles, and the other was in complete garbage time with the game decided. Buffalo could be in a similar situation in which they have the lead and are able to impose their will on the game.
The Buffalo Bills will face the Miami Dolphins on the road and are six-point favorites, according to NFL odds. The Dolphins were overmatched in their Week 1 loss and only managed to score 11 points. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions in their loss to the New England Patriots. Miami could be without number one wide receiver DeVante Parker as he was limited in practice with a hamstring injury.
Miami is only implied to score 17.5 points in this game, according to our daily fantasy matchup heat map. That's the third-lowest total on the slate. The Bills defense is at the top of our projections in terms of raw points and are a good play in all formats this week.
Kansas City Chiefs
FanDuel Salary: $4,300
The Kansas City Chiefs are way more thought of as a high-flying offensive team but have a chance to have a good fantasy day on defense this week. The Kansas City D/ST had four sacks and an interception in their season opener against the Houston Texans. They are mostly a bend-but-don't-break type of defense, but they also feature some playmakers that can score us fantasy points on the defensive side of the ball.
The Chiefs take on the Los Angeles Chargers, who were unimpressive on offense in their Week 1 win. New starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor wasn't able to move the ball effectively and took two sacks against the lowly Cincinnati D/ST. The Bengals defense doesn't have any pass rushers the quality of Frank Clark and Chris Jones, who should be able to take advantage of a suspect Chargers offensive line.
Another thing going in the Chiefs' favor should be game script. They are 8.5-point favorites, which should force the Chargers into a lot of pass attempts if they need to come back in this game. A team that is going to pass a lot is a good team to target with a fantasy defense, as pass attempts could potentially lead to sacks and interceptions. The Chiefs are numberFire's third-highest projected defense this week, despite being the sixth-most expensive defense on the slate.
Arizona Cardinals
FanDuel Salary: $3,600
A value option at the position would be the Arizona D/ST. They held their own in Week 1 and were able to help their team pick up a win over the San Francisco 49ers. They got to the quarterback three times and should be able to disrupt the quarterback even more in their upcoming game.
The Arizona Cardinals face the Washington Football Team at home and are 6.5-point favorites. Despite their win in their season opener, the Washington offensive line struggled. They allowed three sacks and had the fifth-worst adjusted sack rate in the league, according to Football Outsiders. This is consistent with last season when they were the second-worst by the same metric.
With the Cardinals being favored and playing as fast as they like to, that could lead to a lot of pass attempts for Dwayne Haskins. Haskins had the third-highest interception rate for any quarterback who attempted at least 200 passes last season. Our projections really like the Cardinals defense, as they are ranked as the second-highest scoring defense this week, regardless of salary. When you add in the fact they are just $3,600, they become a great salary-saving play at defense.
Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
