FanDuel Defenses to Target in Week 10
Trusting the process is always important.
Last week’s picks featured two top 10 defenses, including third-ranked Philadelphia. The Saints were a sleeper pick, and they may as well have been sleeping, as they only managed one fantasy point.
Once again, we have chosen three defenses and analyzed them with the help of our signature metric, Net Expected Points (NEP), which compares a team's or player's performance relative to expectation-level.
Here are three defenses to consider for your Week 10 FanDuel lineups.
St. Louis Rams (vs. Chicago)
FanDuel Price: $5,400
numberFire Projected Points: 10.86
St. Louis is favored by 7.5 points at home against a Bears team that has the lowest projected point total of the week.
The Bears have the 28th best Adjusted NEP (-4.87) in the league, while the Rams lead the NFL with -34.03 Adjusted Defensive NEP.
St. Louis is currently the third highest scoring defense in terms of fantasy points per game and is averaging 4.5 sacks across all home games. They have yet to give up more than 25 points in a game this season and are fourth in the league with 8 fumble recoveries.
Alshon Jeffery has had three straight 100 yard games but has a very tough matchup in this one against a Rams defense that has only allowed one receiver over 100 yards all year.
St. Louis is the most expensive defense this week, but we project them to have the most fantasy points. With little risk and a high ceiling, put them in any lineup that you can afford them.
Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Miami)
FanDuel Price: $4,700
numberFire Projected Points: 10.52
The Eagles are favored by 6.5 points at home this week where they are averaging over 13 fantasy points per game.
The Dolphins are coming to town this week led by Ryan Tannehill, whose 0.02 Passing NEP per play ranks 29th in the league among quarterbacks with 50 or more drop backs. He has thrown multiple interceptions in four games this season and has been sacked multiple times in every game.
This is a great matchup for an Eagles defense that hardly needs it to be successful. Their -17.97 Adjusted Defensive NEP is third best in the league, and their 20 turnovers leads the NFL.
We project Philadelphia to have the second most fantasy points this week, and the mid-range price tag makes them our best value pick.
Washington Redskins (vs. New Orleans)
FanDuel Price: $4,000
numberFire Projected Points: 7.36
Washington is our minimum priced sleeper pick of the week. Last week in New England, the Redskins held Tom Brady under 300 passing yards for only his third time all season, and intercepted him for only his second of the year.
In Week 10, they will have to deal with Drew Brees, who has thrown an interception in six of eight games this season. The Saints have also lost a fumble in seven fumbles already, and will have to deal with a Redskins defense that has forced at least one turnover in six of their eight games.
Washington has three games with three or more sacks already, and is in a prime spot for more against a Saints offensive line that has given up a sack in all but one game and at least three sacks four times.
Brees’ 0.23 Passing NEP ranks 8th in the league, so this is far from a lock, but at $4,000 Washington has a great opportunity to rack up points through sacks and turnovers.
