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With Week 1 of the NFL season wrapping up, it is a perfect time to see which defense are available on the waiver wire in fantasy football. On Sunday, we saw a lot of great outings from defenses such as the Cardinals, Broncos, and Panthers, who were not on many fantasy managers’ radar before the season. But now they might warrant a pickup off of waivers.
Below we will take a look a five defenses on the waiver wire who are rostered in fewer than 50% of ESPN fantasy football leagues.
Arizona Cardinals D/ST (5.2%)
Next up — vs. Minnesota
The Cardinals had one of the best defensive performances in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans. Arizona scored 19.0 fantasy points, thanks to All-Pro defensive end Chandler Jones, who had five sacks by himself. As a team, the Cardinals had 6 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and interception on Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Arizona will need this same type of effort going into next week against the Vikings
Carolina Panthers D/ST (24.1%)
Next up — vs. New Orleans
The Panthers’ defense surpassed their Week 1 projection (6.9) on Sunday as they scored 11 fantasy points against the New York Jets. Carolina piled up six sacks on rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, who lost his starting left tackle Mehki Becton. The Panthers also grabbed an interception off the rookie and held the Jets’ offense to only 45 rushing yards. If they want to make any noise in the NFC South, the defense must do their part.
Philadelphia Eagles D/ST (1.8%)
Next up — vs. San Francisco
The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense did not come into Week 1 of the regular season rostered in many fantasy football leagues. But under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, they managed to put up 9.0 fantasy points against the Atlanta Falcons. The Eagles’ defense did not create any turnovers, but they managed to record three sacks on Falcons QB Matt Ryan. They also held Atlanta without a touchdown (6), despite two early red zone trips. The Eagles will try to carry their momentum over to next week’s game at home against the 49ers.