Week 3 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings: Top Streamers & Stashes
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
19 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 22, 2026
Published
Tue, September 22, 2026
5
Player insights
5
Players mentioned
Topics
Aaron RodgersCaleb WilliamsDe'Von AchaneMichael Penix Jr.Tyson Bagent
Player analysis
Player insights
Aaron Rodgers
PositiveMatchup7:24
Theo Griminger describes Aaron Rodgers as a "statue" in the pocket, making him a prime target for the Cincinnati Bengals' pass rush in their upcoming matchup.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
NegativeInjury5:30
Theo Griminger notes that the Chicago Bears' offense struggled significantly in Week 2, scoring only three points, and the team has lost starting quarterback Caleb Williams to injury.
Insight pageDe'Von Achane
NegativeUsage19:58
Despite receiving elite usage, Devon Achane is struggling to score fantasy points because the Dolphins' offense is holding him back.
Insight pageMichael Penix Jr.
NegativeProjection11:40
The source notes that Michael Penix Jr. starting for the Falcons makes them a more difficult matchup for opposing defenses compared to Cooper Rush, though he is not considered a 'world-beating' option that should deter fantasy managers from starting the Green Bay defense.
Insight pageTyson Bagent
NegativeRole5:33
Theo Griminger acknowledges Tyson Bagent as a capable backup quarterback for the Chicago Bears following the injury to Caleb Williams.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Week three fantasy football defensive
0:02streamers. I'm Theo Griminger, lead
0:04fantasy analyst right here at Rotoire.
0:07Breaking down some defensive options for
0:09you in week three and a few to stash uh
0:12in week four and week five. We're
0:15looking for edges anywhere we can get. I
0:17know this is a tough week for a lot of
0:18you out there dealing with injuries.
0:20Hopefully, we can get a strong score out
0:22of our defense, give ourselves a few
0:25more points in our weekly matchups. A
0:27quick reminder to everyone, go check out
0:29my waiverwire show. We've got to get
0:32through it. For some of these injuries,
0:34it's not season long. These are
0:36shortterm injuries and injuries we can
0:38deal with. If we can sort of get through
0:41next couple of weeks, it's going to be
0:43choppy, but let's get a couple of wins.
0:45A reminder, this is a weekly game.
0:48Fantasy football is a weekly game. We've
0:50got to get through it. Let's get some
0:52wins in week three, and let's try to do
0:54it on the defensive side of the ball.
0:56Last week, a couple of mixed results
0:58here for us with our defensive streaming
1:01options.
1:02The Chiefs fell back down to earth in a
1:05major way. Great week one performance
1:08against Denver. Um really nothing to
1:11speak of against Indianapolis. Colts
1:13scored 30. Of course, the game goes to
1:15overtime, but the Colts score 30. The
1:17Chiefs uh didn't really get to the
1:19quarterback like they did in week one,
1:21but we're back at it. Kansas City will
1:23be a streaming option this week because
1:25of their outstanding matchup against
1:27Miami. The Bengals really solid hit.
1:30That's a defense that I think is it's
1:33bordering on set it and forget it
1:35territory with the Bengals. They're tied
1:38for the lead in the NFL in sacks.
1:40Completely shut down the Houston Texans
1:42last week after a strong week one. So
1:45Bengals in our good graces. Green Bay
1:48Packers solid as well. They had four
1:50sacks last week, got the win over the
1:52Jets, get their first win of the season,
1:54and then of course the San Francisco
1:5649ers. They gave up the long receiving
1:59touchdown towards the end of the game,
2:01but other than that, really a flawless
2:03performance against a hapless Miami
2:06Dolphins team. A quick reminder that
2:09this show is brought to you and all of
2:11my shows brought to you by Better, the
2:13fantasy sports app built for players who
2:15want more ways to win and to play.
2:18Download Better Today, get in on the
2:20action and make every game matter.
2:22Better app is awesome. Go check it out.
2:25Let's talk about week three. Uh we
2:28talked about a couple of the teams in
2:29week two. Let's move on to our options.
2:31Again, if you have Seattle, you're
2:34pretty much playing them every single
2:36week of the year. And they have a
2:38matchup that is like a dream matchup
2:39this week. Facing off against Marcus
2:42Mariota and the Washington Commanders.
2:45Washington has an implied team total of
2:4717. It's blowout time for the Seattle
2:50Seahawks. San Francisco 49ers, we're
2:53going to use them again this week.
2:54Arizona, strong week one performance,
2:58really fell back down to earth. Seattle
3:00smoked them last week and it's probably
3:01going to be more of the same this week
3:03in week three. San Francisco uh e looks
3:06like an easy win for them against these
3:08Cardinals. And the Cardinals have an
3:10implied team total of only 19 and a
3:12half. So, great spot for the 49ers. The
3:15Eagles look like they have a good spot
3:18this week against Chicago on the road,
3:21which two weeks ago looked like a really
3:23difficult matchup, but last week the
3:26Chicago Bears sort of sputtered out,
3:28only three points scored and of course
3:30lose Caleb Williams. Now, Tyson Badant
3:33is a capable backup quarterback, but the
3:35Eagles are a three and a half point road
3:37favorite and the Bears implied team
3:39total is only 20. So that's a that's a
3:41good spot for Philly. But a lot of those
3:44defenses are already rostered. If
3:46besides those defenses, I mean, I think
3:49you're in streaming territory for a
3:51number of teams this week. A lot of
3:53fantasy managers out there looking for
3:55answers on the waiverwire with their
3:58defenses. And let's talk about the
4:00Cincinnati Bengals because the Bengals
4:03this offseason made a number of moves to
4:06try to improve that defense. And the
4:08defense has just been awesome through
4:10two weeks. Back-to-back weeks with high
4:12sack totals. They have eight sacks on
4:15the season for Cincinnati. Four in each
4:17game. Uh three and a half point road
4:20favorites at Pittsburgh this week. And
4:22the Steelers only have an implied team
4:24total of 19 a half. Usually these road
4:28games in the AFC North can be very
4:30tricky. And certainly we've gotten
4:32ourselves in trouble over the years
4:34backing these road teams, but it feels
4:37different this year. This Bengals
4:39defense feels real. It feels like a true
4:42breakout defense this year. And Aaron
4:44Rodgers is a statue back there. It feels
4:47like this is a game where the Bengals
4:48could tee off on Aaron Rodgers. And it
4:51it feels like a game where they're a
4:53very strong streaming option. And if we
4:55get another really strong performance
4:57out of the Bengals, I think we're just
4:59rostering them. They they look really
5:01good and it's one of these things where
5:04we haven't had a a strong season from
5:06Cincinnati defensively in quite some
5:08time where they're almost a set it and
5:10forget it defense. But the Dexter
5:12Lawrence edition really paying huge
5:14dividends. We knew this secondary was
5:16going to be strong. Uh Bengals defense
5:18is one that right now we're banking on
5:20and we're certainly banking on them in
5:22week three. Talking about Kansas City,
5:26again, really difficult uh difficult
5:29play last week. Uh that was one where
5:32bad recommendation on my part, but we go
5:35back to week one against Denver. A
5:38reminder where they had the
5:39interception, they had the fumble
5:41recovery, four sacks in that game, and
5:43they were a top five scoring defense in
5:46almost every single format. Really
5:49strong stuff from Kansas City in week
5:50one. And now they have a dream matchup
5:54in week three here against the Miami
5:57Dolphins. We're pretty much going to
5:58target the Miami Dolphins every single
6:00week. There's a couple of of offenses
6:03that we can sort of circle. Um and Miami
6:06is at the top of the food chain for
6:08opposing defenses right now. 10 and a
6:10half point favorites for the Chiefs and
6:13a 17 and a half point team total for the
6:15Dolphins. The Dolphins are giving up a
6:18ton of sacks and they cannot score. It's
6:21a great combination for Kansas City.
6:23Also, just like on a vibes base here,
6:26Kansas City with a chance to go 3-0
6:28really turned things around. Um, really
6:31some positive vibes with the Chiefs.
6:33Everything is working with this Kenneth
6:35Walker offense and I think we see the
6:37defense look a lot more like week one
6:40than they did in week two. Another
6:42defense to keep an eye on, the Green Bay
6:45Packers. And last week we talked about
6:47them where they had a very solid run out
6:51against the New York Jets. They get the
6:54win. Uh really collapsed against
6:57Minnesota in week one. Um you get
7:00Michael Penn back in this one. So this
7:02is not the Cooper Rush experience for
7:04us. This is not the Strand experience.
7:07We're not going to get a chance to tee
7:09off against like a totally awful
7:10quarterback. But PennX is not exactly
7:12putting the fear into Green Bay here.
7:15And the the odds makers are still
7:18putting this as a Green Bay 6 1/2 point
7:21favorite. And the implied team total for
7:24the Falcons somewhere between 19 and 20
7:27points. Four sacks for the Green Bay
7:29Packers last week against the New York
7:32Jets. And I think that Green Bay is one
7:35that we can lean into this week. Again,
7:38Pennock's a more difficult quarterback
7:41option to face off against, but it's
7:43it's not exactly like a worldbeating
7:45option. We're still going to use Green
7:47Bay, but I prefer Cincinnati. I prefer
7:51Kansas City to Green Bay in this one.
7:54Another defense where it's sort of the
7:56tale of two weeks. Week one, Carolina
7:59gives up 59 to the Chicago Bears. And
8:03then week two, Carolina is the number
8:05one defensive scoring team in the NFL
8:08for fantasy football in in most formats.
8:11So Carolina like just absolutely teed
8:14off on on Atlanta, forced a ton of
8:17turnovers, forced five turnovers, they
8:20score a defensive touchdown, they get
8:22two sacks, and they only allow three
8:24points. So no matter what your defensive
8:26scoring format was, Carolina was at the
8:31very very top. Unless you're I mean I
8:33don't see any any league where I that
8:35I'm in where Carolina wasn't the top
8:37scoring defense. So Carolina in really
8:41really good shape this week again
8:44Cleveland. Now now Cleveland had a very
8:46solid uh win and they have a little bit
8:49of momentum here but we don't want to
8:51overreact to that win over Tampa Bay.
8:53Tampa Bay's got some issues right now.
8:55So I think Carolina is back in play.
8:58They're road favorites in Cleveland. So,
9:01Cleveland coming off of a big win over
9:03Tampa Bay where they ruined everyone's
9:06survivor pools, but you're still going
9:08to lean into Carolina here. Carolina, a
9:11lot of positive momentum, completely
9:14shut out Atlanta, and I think they have
9:16a chance to do so again against
9:18Cleveland. Cleveland's has problems on
9:21the offensive line that I think this
9:23Carolina Panthers team can exploit a
9:25little bit. And we know they forced a
9:26number of turnovers last week. Maybe
9:29that continues this week as well.
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10:00One defense who we've really got a a
10:03circle here, another team that gained a
10:06lot of momentum in week two was the
10:09Minnesota Vikings. Vikings were a top
10:11five scoring uh unit for for most
10:15fantasy managers out there in most
10:16formats. They had an interception. They
10:18had a fumble recovery. They had four
10:20sacks. And Minnesota, they were able to
10:24come back against Green Bay in week one.
10:27So Minnesota, a lot of positive
10:29momentum. We know Brian Flores over the
10:32years has had a lot of success with the
10:35pass rush and the blitz rates. And we
10:38look at what Minnesota was able to do in
10:39back-to-back weeks here in terms of
10:42sacks. They had four sacks against Green
10:43Bay as well. Uh, that was a big-time
10:46comeback win for them. So, you get back
10:48Kyler Murray and now you play against
10:50this Tampa Bay team. It's feels like a
10:53trap game for Minnesota. It's one of
10:56those games where you got the 0 and2
10:58Buccaneers. You got the 2 and 0
10:59Minnesota Vikings. It looks kind of like
11:01a trap game, but I'm still leaning into
11:04Minnesota here. I think this is going to
11:06be a borderline set it and forget it
11:08defense. We've seen Flores over the
11:10years build some really strong defensive
11:14units and I think this Vikings team is
11:17trending in that direction. So you have
11:20the the Buccaneers backs against the
11:23wall, but the Vikes are a road favorite.
11:25They're minus 2 and a half point
11:26favorites on the road. Minnesota, we'll
11:29talk about them a little bit more later.
11:31Dream matchup for them against Miami in
11:34week four. So, if you're able to stash a
11:36second defense, even if you don't want
11:38to use Minnesota this week, if they're
11:40available in your league, grab them by
11:43all means because that's double-digit
11:46points for you upcoming in week four.
11:48Brian Flores against Miami, the Brian
11:51Flores revenge game, and the Miami
11:54Dolphins are are like can't do anything.
11:57Um, my guy Devon Achan getting elite
12:00usage and can't hardly score many
12:02fantasy points because this this offense
12:04is totally holding him back. I think
12:07that Minnesota week four for a lot of
12:09people is going to be their top ranked
12:11defense. So, we want to grab them now
12:13and stash them. Sometimes, you know, and
12:16a lot of the defenses I mentioned, they
12:18might already be rostered. So, let's
12:20give you a couple of options. If you're
12:21in a league that's very deep, maybe
12:24people are rostering two defenses and
12:26maybe just people are never available.
12:28The New York Giants have their backs
12:30against the wall. This is one of those
12:33games where
12:35you lose Jackson Dart, you're struggling
12:37for answers, and you get a big defensive
12:40effort against a team in Tennessee
12:43that's really struggling to score and
12:45has conceded five sacks on the season.
12:47So, I think the New York Giants very
12:49much in play this week as a defensive
12:51streaming option. Again, the offensive
12:54side of the ball, dart, neighbors, guys
12:56banged up. A lot of times in in the NFL,
13:00it's sort of an anecdotal thing here,
13:02but teams rise to the occasion,
13:04especially home teams. I think New York
13:06could be teeing off on Cam Ward here.
13:10You also have sort of the Brian Dable
13:12revenge game. I don't know if that even
13:14factors in much, but it's Dable coming
13:16back playing New York in New York. I
13:19think this is one where we're going to
13:20lean into the Giants. Giants again,
13:23they're dealing with injuries. They
13:26completely out outmatched last night
13:29against the LA Rams, but they still have
13:32a chance to move to 2 and one if they
13:34get this win against Tennessee, which
13:36means a lot to Harbaugh, and I'm sure it
13:38means a lot to the locker room. So, even
13:40though they're reeling offensively in
13:42terms of personnel, it will not have an
13:44impact on the defense, we'll keep an eye
13:46on the Giants this week. I if you're in
13:48a league that you're struggling to find
13:51quality streaming options. And then the
13:53final streaming option, and this is sort
13:55of like a hold your breath one, could
13:57the levy break for the New York Jets
14:00this week?
14:01There's a lot to like about just
14:04attacking Detroit, but Detroit feels
14:07like a defense that maybe puts it
14:10together in terms of game flow. Gino has
14:13had some positive moments this year, but
14:16you get Gino Smith against these Lions.
14:19Lions are desperate for a big win here,
14:22desperate to get sort of their
14:24confidence back after the Buffalo game.
14:26And the Saints game was a near loss for
14:29them. So, I think Detroit gets a chance
14:30to move to two and one. It's really like
14:34a hold your breath type game. It's more
14:36of I'm chasing the game flow to sort of
14:39go against the Jets. Maybe a chance to
14:40force some turnovers. Maybe a chance to
14:43get pressure on Gino. We know that the
14:46Jets gave up a number of sacks against
14:47Green Bay. And the Lions are six and a
14:50half point favorites, but they would be
14:51my like the team I really wouldn't want
14:54to use this week, but they they do need
14:56to be mentioned. and a few streaming
14:58options for you to stash if you're able
15:01to if your roster can can withstand
15:04holding two defenses. A couple of
15:07defenses to keep an eye on for week
15:09four. We mentioned Minnesota. This is
15:11like a very very hard to resist stash.
15:16You get the option of using Minnesota
15:18this week against Tampa Bay. and it's
15:20almost worth just using them. Even if
15:22you're in a league where it's you maybe
15:25prefer one of the other streaming
15:26options, Minnesota is still a team where
15:28if you look over a two-eek sample,
15:31you're probably going to wish you added
15:32Minnesota because Miami in week four.
15:35So, we'll keep an eye on Minnesota this
15:37week against Tampa Bay and then again
15:39Miami in week four. So, really setting
15:41up well for them with a plus matchup
15:44this week and then a smash week in week
15:46four. Another defense to mention, we
15:49mentioned the Cleveland Browns who win
15:52against Tampa and if you're able to sort
15:55of stash one, it's setting up nicely for
15:58them in week four and in week five. The
16:01Browns of course have a ton of issues on
16:03offense, but these two defensive
16:05matchups are setting up pretty well.
16:07They get the Pittsburgh Steelers at home
16:10on Thursday night in week four and then
16:13they play the Jets on the road in week
16:15five. Uh, so decent matchups for
16:18Cleveland and Kansas City. We talked
16:22about them. We saw how good they were in
16:24week one against Denver. If they're able
16:26to put it together with a smash week
16:28against Miami this week, then I think
16:31they're going to have the momentum on
16:32the road in Vegas in week four. Now,
16:35going up against Clint Kubakle le
16:38offenses, especially with the Raiders
16:40starting off 2 and 0, but it feels like
16:43week four against Kansas City, even
16:45though the game is in Vegas, that's a
16:47game that would sort of lean into Kansas
16:50City's favor, especially if the Chiefs
16:52are 3-0 in that one. Kirk Cousins sort
16:56of seems to be playing with house money
16:57right now. Um, really solid performance
17:00from Cousins to start out the year, but
17:02week four could be the one that catches
17:03up to him. And then we mentioned the
17:06Giants this week with their backs up
17:08against the wall um and a chance to put
17:11up a smash week performance against
17:13Tennessee. If they get the momentum
17:16going, it's setting up very very well
17:18for them. They get Arizona in week four.
17:23Um and then you get the the Washington
17:25Commanders in week five. So Arizona in
17:29week four and then the Washington
17:31Commanders in week five. So, good stuff
17:34from New York. We're going to keep an
17:35eye on how they do against Tennessee.
17:37Make sure you stick with us right here
17:38at Roto Wire. I'm dropping shows like
17:40this all week long that can help you win
17:43in fantasy football. Make sure you're
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17:50Box score. Every single week, we're
17:51making bold predictions, doing some
17:53analytical takes with Jacob. And then
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