Fantasy Football: 3 Defensive Streamer Options for Week 12

Every point matters when it comes to winning in season-long fantasy football, meaning you can't afford to leave points on the table. We don't spend top-notch draft capital on D/STs in our fantasy football drafts, but ignoring them during the season can cost you dearly.

Streaming defenses throughout the year is a great way to ensure you get the most out of your D/ST slot. Even the best defenses draw tough weekly matchups, and even the worst defenses are capable of strong fantasy outings in the right situations.

This article is here to help you parse through all of those situations and to present you with three streamers available in most leagues.

Fantasy Football Defenses to Stream for Week 12

All projections via numberFire.

New England Patriots

Matchup: at New York Giants

numberFire Projection: 9.78 (D/ST2)

Our first streamer of the week isn't exactly for the faint of heart. The New England Patriots are sitting at a 2-8 record and are close to securing the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. They haven't picked that highly since they selected Drew Bledsoe first overall in 1993.

Unfortunately for the Pats' chances at the 1.01 next year, they have a Week 12 date with the Tommy DeVito-led New York Giants, who are incredibly generous to opposing fantasy defenses. DeVito is absorbing sacks at a frankly incredible 21.6% rate. In just four appearances, the rookie has taken 22 sacks.

He and the Giants did muster up a nice win over the Washington Commanders in Week 11, but not before having DeVito take another nine sacks against a team that just traded away two of its top young pass rushers.

The Patriots' defense has been a little bit better than their record might otherwise imply, even after enduring season-ending injuries to key players like Matt Judon and Christian Gonzalez. They're still allowing opposing offenses to score on only 36.3% of their drives, which ranks 14th-best. They've mostly just been betrayed by abysmal offensive play, but should still muster up a solid fantasy D/ST weekend against the Giants' poor offense.

Tennessee Titans

Matchup: vs. Carolina Panthers

numberFire Projection: 9.50 (D/ST3)

The Jacksonville Jaguars kind of exposed the Tennessee Titans' defense in Week 11. The Titans' defensive front is a strong group of pass-rushers and run-stuffers, but their secondary leaves a lot to be desired. Trevor Lawrence efficiently dispatched their defense, averaging an impressive 8.19 yards per attempt while airing it out downfield to Calvin Ridley.

The Titans won't have to contend with that kind of play in Week 12 when they take on the Carolina Panthers, who have done first overall pick Bryce Young absolutely no favors by assembling a wide receiver group led by 33-year-old Adam Thielen while also having the third-worst pass-blocking offensive line in the league, according to Pro Football Focus' grades.

Their offense has scored the fourth-fewest points per game this year, making them one of the safest teams to stream defenses against. Young is taking sacks at the sixth-highest clip (10.1% of his dropbacks) and has thrown 9 touchdowns to 8 interceptions across nine starts. His 4.7 adjusted yards per attempt ranks just ahead of Chicago Bears undrafted free agent Tyson Bagent and somehow trails Las Vegas Raiders place-filler Aidan O'Connell's and New York Jets recent benchee Zach Wilson's 5.1 and 5.4 marks, respectively.

The Titans' defense has its issues, but the Carolina Panthers are not the kind of team that can exploit them. numberFire's model projects the Tennessee defense to allow the second-fewest points (16.5) on the weekend while piling up the fourth-most sacks (3.5), giving them the third-highest projected fantasy points and the second-strongest FanDuel value at the position based on their $3,300 salary.

Denver Broncos

Matchup: vs. Cleveland Browns

numberFire Projection: 8.17 (D/ST9)

When I kicked this column off at the start of the year, I did not expect to ever have to write up the Denver Broncos. After they gave up over 70 points and 700 yards of offense to the Miami Dolphins, they looked like potentially one of the worst defenses in modern history.

Things have changed recently for the Broncos, though, and they have now posted back-to-back-to-back wins against legitimate playoff contenders while allowing 9, 22, and 20 points in those games.

Their secret? Forcing 12 turnovers in three games. It's not the most reliable way of winning games on a week-to-week basis, but they've been doing it consistently since their bye week and putting up fantasy points for the D/ST in the process.

It's impressive that they've had this stretch against offenses like the Kansas City Chiefs' and the Buffalo Bills, and it's fortunate that they'll now get to play against the Cleveland Browns and rookie backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The 2023 fifth-rounder has yet to throw or rush for a touchdown in four appearances and has thrown four interceptions across just 80 attempts, making him a nice quarterback to target with streaming defenses.

The Broncos somehow look like a defense on the rise after a preposterously poor start to the season and are catching the Browns at an opportune moment just two weeks after Deshaun Watson's season-ending injury. Their D/ST is set up well to put some fantasy points on the board in Week 12.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.