NFL

3 FanDuel Defenses to Target in Week 1

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.

It can be tough to parse through exactly how defenses will perform early in the season. The good news is we have a chance to be early on some defenses that might not be on the radar for other fantasy players. Let’s dig in and try to find an edge at defense in Week 1.

Carolina Panthers

FanDuel Salary: $4,600

It might surprise you to see the Carolina Panthers on this list, as they have not been a team known for having a stellar defense over the past few seasons.

The Panthers did show a massive improvement last season, going from 31st in points allowed to 18th. The new coaching staff and some exciting young players caused that improvement, and they could take yet another step forward this season.

Those are encouraging signs but are not really the reason we should be interested in rostering the Carolina D/ST in Week 1. The primary reason is the juicy matchup with the New York Jets. The Jets do have a ton of new players and a new coaching staff, so we might expect them to be a bit better than last season’s disaster.

But rookie quarterback Zach Wilson will be making his first career start behind an offensive line that ranked 29th in adjusted sack rate. Now, the Jets did make some additions at offensive line, but it will take a lot of improvement to even get to league average. It would be a surprise to see them put it all together in their first regular season game.

The Panthers check a few boxes that we look for when rostering a defense, too. They are at home and favored to win the game. The Jets are one of three teams that have an implied team total that doesn't exceed 20 points, according to our daily fantasy matchup heat map. Going up against a rookie quarterback adds to the potential for turnovers, and gives Carolina the upside to be the best defense on the week.

Denver Broncos

FanDuel Salary: $4,100

The Denver D/ST fits the profile as a team defense that we want to target.

They have a defensive-minded head coach in Vic Fangio. They have loads of talent on the defensive side of the ball, including a return from Von Miller. Their adjusted sack rate on defense was the fifth-best in the NFL last season, even without Miller in the lineup. This Sunday, the opportunity to pressure the quarterback and force turnovers should be there.

The Denver Broncos take on the New York Giants in Week 1, and the matchup doesn't get much better. The Giants took 50 sacks last season, the second-most in the NFL. There may not be a quarterback in the league who is more sensitive to pressure than Daniel Jones. In 27 career games played, Jones has a stunning 29 fumbles, according to Pro Football Reference. He also has 22 interceptions to go with all the fumbles, making him a turnover waiting to happen.

The Giants' skill position players are banged up heading into this game, with Evan Engram missing practice on Wednesday and Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, and Kadarius Toney all being limited in practice, as well. That does not bode well for them in this tough matchup.

The implied team total for the Giants is the second-lowest on this slate, ahead of only the Detroit Lions. With all the potential for sacks and turnovers for the Broncos, they are certainly one of the best plays at the position for just $4,100. In fact, our projections have them with the most points at defense on the slate despite carrying the eighth-highest salary.

Buffalo Bills

FanDuel Salary: $3,600

If you can't afford the Panthers or Broncos, or perhaps you want to be different in tournaments, the Buffalo D/ST is another option.

After a few seasons of having a defense that carried the offense, it was really the opposite in 2020. The Buffalo Bills went from allowing 16.5 points per game in 2019 to allowing 23.2. This is why their salary is just $3,600 in this game, but the way the game could play out makes them an intriguing play this week.

The Bills will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in their season opener. These two teams met last season, and the Bills were able to win 26-15 while intercepting two Ben Roethlisberger passes. The Steelers were second in pass percentage last year, and while the narrative all offseason was that they were going to use Najee Harris to become more balanced, it might be difficult to implement in this game. They likely will need to pass often to keep with an explosive Bills offense.

If we can't target the best defenses, it's a good strategy to target defenses against teams that project to pass a lot. Pass plays can lead to sacks, interceptions, and fumbles, whereas a running play can only help our fantasy defense if a fumble occurs. The Bills are 6.5-point home favorites in this game, which sets up the game script for the defense to be in a good position to face a lot of pass attempts. Buffalo ranks third in the value column of numberFire's projections, and they are a great salary-saving option at defense in Week 1.


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.