October 14, 2017

Adam Hall looks at fantasy opportunity based on defensive production and recommends sleeper/buy-low candidates for the second half of the 2017 NFL season.

With nearly a third of the fantasy season behind us, we should take a look around to see who is excelling, and who has failed to live up to expectations.

Fantasy football is a game built on opportunity, and those who see the patterns being laid down are more likely to end up on top.  Choose players that go up against these teams for a higher likelihood of success from now until the playoffs. In other words, strike while the iron is hot.

In this article, we'll look at defensive opportunities for each position in the coming weeks to see which players might give fantasy football owners an edge when it comes to start/sit decisions.

Most Points Allowed to Quarterbacks

Highlights:

• Much to the surprise of everyone in the sports community, the Patriots have been a raging dumpster fire on defense this year. They are far and wide the best weekly matchup across the board, as they are bottom-five in every category.
• Deshaun Watson is in wonderful position for the rest of the year, as he plays six of these teams over the next 11 weeks.
• Matt Ryan is in a position to excel as he plays seven of these teams over the next 11 weeks. Cam Newton is in a similar position.
• Russell Wilson faces five of these teams including a week 16 matchup against the Cowboys, when many fantasy Super Bowls are being played.

Bottom 12 teams against QBs:

Most Points Allowed to Wide Receivers

Highlights:

• Tampa Bay is getting torched by wide receivers thus far, allowing nearly 21% more points per game than the second worst team (the Eagles).
• Only the Patriots, Titans, Buccaneers, Cardinals and Cowboys are ranked in the bottom ten in points allowed to both quarterbacks and wide receivers. Although the Eagles and Saints follow just behind with bottom-12 ranks in both categories.
• The Raiders and Broncos receivers have golden opportunities with two bottom-12 teams in their division.

Bottom 12 teams against wide receivers:

Most Points Allowed to Running Backs

Highlights:

• The Cardinals and Seahawks have two of the bottom-three rush defenses in their division. Adrian Peterson, and whoever wins the lead role in Seattle are in phenomenal positions to thrive.
• The Eagles and Redskins have two bottom-12 rush defenses in their division.
• Doug Martin and Christian McCaffery are in prime positions over the next 10 weeks.
• Miami and Buffalo have two bottom-five rush defenses in their division. Jay Ajayi is a perfect buy-low candidate.

Bottom 12 teams against the run:

Most Points Allowed to Tight Ends

Highlights:

• The Cowboys and Eagles have top-flight tight end candidates, Zach Ertz and Jason Witten are likely to continue to succeed.
• The Bills and Jets have two bottom-five tight end teams in their division. Pick up Charles Clay if he’s been dropped in your league, he’ll be a great late-season asset to stash now.
• Delanie Walker and Julius Thomas have two bottom ten ranked teams in their division.

Bottom 12 teams against tight ends:

Bottom 12 Teams on Average and Playoff Matchups

More Week 6 Lineup Prep