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What will DeAndre Hopkins do from a fantasy football perspective in his new home in Kansas City? And did he make the cut in this week’s wide receiver rankings? ClutchPoints has you covered in both of those situations and we also have you covered with those who cover. Here are the fantasy football defense rankings for Week 8.
Not so surprisingly, a familiar face resides in the top spot for this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a home game against the New York Giants and should be able to put up a nice performance from a fantasy perspective.
But who else made the top 12? And why are the Steelers a good bet to make noise this week? On we go!
Top Fantasy Football Picks
Part of the reason the Steelers rank high is because the Giants haven’t found themselves on offense this season. For example, in Week 6 the Giants' longest play from scrimmage gained a meager 15 yards. Ouch. But hey, that’s one yard better than the Giants managed to produce in Week 7!
Giants head coach Brian Daboll said the team is searching for answers, according to giants.com.
“You never accept where we're at,” Daboll said. “Whether you're on top or obviously where we're at right now, which is not good enough. I've clearly stated that. We'll do everything we can do to improve the things we need to improve on to correct some of those issues that we're having and ultimately score points. That's the job. And we're not getting that done, again, two of the big things we need to keep working on to correct to help those things are explosives and third down.”
Another reason the Steelers should soar is the Giants are having trouble protecting the quarterback. They went 3 of 14 on third-down attempts in Week 7, allowing five sacks in those situations.
“It's hard to sustain drives if you're not creating big plays and you're not converting on third downs,” Daboll said after the game Sunday. “Some of that is a result of first and second downs, some of the sacks and negative plays that we took. We haven't been going backwards a whole bunch. But, not good enough any way you look at it.”
Pittsburgh’s fantasy defense numbers this season have been consistent: 12, 13, 9, 2, 11, 13, 8. They’ve finised in the 12 five times. This looks like another week to get there.
Don't sleep on the Broncos
The next best bet are the Denver Broncos, and it’s opponent-based as well. In fact, depending how your scoring system works, the Broncos could be the best unit this week because their chance of scoring on defense is sky high. The Panthers will turn back to Bryce Young, and he’s awful. He has three interceptions on the season with no touchdown passes. The only reason the Steelers get the nod over the Broncos this week is because the Panthers will likely play turtle-in-the-shell offense. Three runs, punt, and high-fives on the sideline because the offense didn’t turn it over.
Of course, Broncos head coach Sean Payton used gamesmanship and praised Young, according to a post on X by ESPN’s David Newton. At any point in the following quote by Payton, feel free to imagine Muttley, the cartoon dog, snickering.
‘’He has good vision, quick release,” Payton said. “He shows accuracy (and) poise. He’s played in real big moments. I think that you flip the focus when you have a change in quarterbacks from like one to the other, and you study it the best you can.”
Other Standouts
The Baltimore Ravens could easily be in the cat bird’s seat this week, but the Cleveland Browns actually improved their offense by going to their emergency quarterback. Jameis Winston will almost surely offer some picks. Remember he had 30 (yes, 30!) on 2019. But he also tossed 33 touchdown passes that season. A great deal of his passes were caught by somebody that year. The Browns should put up some points, but the Ravens might make big plays. They have six straight games with at least three sacks.
John Harbaugh said Winston can still bring it, according to baltimoreravens.com.
“He's a great quarterback,” Harbaugh said.
Can we borrow the Muttley laugh again?
“Very talented quarterback over the years — highly touted, highly decorated quarterback. (He) played a lot of football (and) can throw the thing all over the field for sure. (He can) push the ball downfield (and) does a great job with the reads.”
Ok, still fire up the Ravens’ defense even though it has allowed the most passing yards per game at a whopping 287.
Also, the Chargers present a good option. Spencer Rattler will get the call again at QB for the Saints and he has an injury-depleted receiver group at his disposal. The Chargers have finished as a top-12 defense four times this year, and should meet that mark again this week.
Don’t be afraid of firing up the Chiefs’ defense this week, either. They don’t get a lot of sacks, so scoring systems matter when you use the Chiefs. They’ve only had one top-12 finish all year. Their three interceptions last week against the 49ers exceeded their season total of two heading into the game.
Fantasy Football Sleepers
It’s OK to lean the New York Jets this week. The Patriots don’t scare anybody and the Jets might make a big play against rookie QB Drake Maye.
Both the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are safe picks this week. And the Chicago Bears can fit into that mold if the Commanders are forced to start Marcus Mariota at quarterback.
NFL Fantasy Football Week 8 Defense Rankings
1. Pittsburgh Steelers, PIT vs. NYG
2. Denver Broncos, DEN vs. CAR
3. Baltimore Ravens, BAL @ CLE
4. Los Angeles Chargers LAC vs. NO
5. Kansas City Chiefs, KC @ LV
6. New York Jets, NYJ @ NE
7. Green Bay Packers, GB @ JAC
8. Minnesota Vikings, MIN @ LAR
9. Houston Texans, HOU vs. IND
10. Chicago Bears, CHI @ WAS
11. Miami Dolphins, MIA vs. ARI
12. Detroit Lions, DET vs. TEN
