We’re almost halfway through the NFL season which means the playoffs in fantasy football leagues are not too far away. Defenses and special teams have a bigger impact than people think on the outcomes of weekly matchups.
Below we take a look at some of the best defense/special teams options on the waiver wire for Week 8.
Fantasy football waiver wire: D/ST pickups for Week 8
Seattle Seahawks D/ST
Rostership: 38.6%
I told people to pick this defense up and their roster ship is rising, but it is still too low. By standard fantasy scoring, the Seahawks have scored 11+ fantasy points in three straight games. They’re getting healthier and that has been crucial for their improvements. Their secondary looked awful through the first few weeks of the season, but are improving as the season goes on. Their young talent is starting to show how good they really are.
New York Giants D/ST
Rostership: 21.8%
The Giants’ defense looked awful after the first few weeks of the season. However, their defense is slowly improving. A good reason for that could be because they have a lot of young players still finding their footing in the NFL. Wink Martindale is inconsistent, but when his defenses get rolling, they have steady success. It feels like that’s how things are going for them right now.
Atlanta Falcons D/ST
Rostership: 19.7%
While they don’t have the greatest defense on paper, they have a solid defense and it’s beginning to show. They added some strong veterans like Calais Campbell to add with the young talents they already had. Their offense needs to continue to move the ball to give this Falcons defense some breaks on the sideline, but they’ve been coming to play. They play the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, and Arizona Cardinals through the next three games. Those are great matchups for this defense.
Cincinnati Bengals D/ST
Rostership: 16.1%
Cincinnati is looking solid around the time they did last year as well. Their success typically depends on how their offense is playing. The offense is turning things around and that has shown well for their defense as well. By standard fantasy scoring, they’ve scored double-digits in three of their last four weeks. Lou Anarumo is a solid defensive coordinator and could be looking at head coaching opportunities at some point in the near future. They have two tough matchups in the next few weeks, but they’re a good option to pick up and stash.
