After managing IDP rosters through one-third of the season, I have learned that Week 7 presents a critical chance to identify streamers who can distance themselves from the pack with favorable matchups. The best players available in most fantasy leagues right now include options from the Patriots, Chiefs, and several other teams whose defense units face vulnerable offenses.
Denver’s Nik Bonitto leads the league with eight sacks, while Jacksonville’s Devin Lloyd sits at the top with four interceptions, though these stats might slow during the middle portion of the schedule.
What makes streaming successful is treating each week like its own little chapter in your season’s book, where past performance can help shape future determinations, but while Bonitto is likely to keep taking down the quarterback, Lloyd might not continue picking off passes at this pace. When building your lineup, look at two or three levels of the defense because guys who can generate linebacker tackles, sacks, and interceptions from widely available pools become the difference between winning and losing your matchup.
Focus on players you can put into action immediately, checking NFL.com for updated target information, because getting the right streamer means understanding who’s able to produce consistently, not just who had a good week or two in the long grind of the season.
Defensive Linemen
Carolina Panthers New York Jets
Justin Fields has been sacked the second most times this season, going down nine times in Week 6 alone, and when ESPN measures New York’s pass block win rate at 25th among all teams, you know the Carolina Panthers defense gets a prime opportunity to exploit this weak matchup.
Having played in fantasy leagues where finding low level streamers becomes essential, I have learned that filling your defensive line spots with the right guy means understanding that Fields has taken the third longest time to throw the ball among quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts, not helping himself or his offensive line and making him vulnerable to rush pressure from multiple angles.
The Panthers rank last in sacks with only five in six games, which makes this a bet on volume rather than elite talent, but Patrick Jones II and Nic Scourton have played the most snaps rushing the passer from the edge over the previous two weeks, with D.J. Wonnum just behind them as decent bets to pick up production.
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On the interior, Derrick Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, and Bobby Brown III form an unexciting group up front, though both Derrick Brown and Robinson have one sack each, making Robinson your best option for picking up a sack from the inside, while the two Browns serve as secondary options (Derrick being the better one). Jones remains the best edge option, with Scourton and Wonnum close behind, and while these players won’t dominate your lineup, their matchup against a quarterback who went down repeatedly and operates behind a struggling block unit creates the pleasure of beating expectations when you need filling spots in deeper fantasy formats.
New England Patriots Tennessee Titans
The only quarterback sacked more often than Fields this season is Tennessee’s Cameron Ward, who has gone down 25 times, which works out to more than four sacks per game, and while the Titans offensive line started off poorly, they actually rank better than average in pass blocking by ESPN’s measure, meaning much of the blame falls on Ward holding the ball too long.
New England’s defense gets a prime chance at a big day of their own here in Week 7, as the Patriots sit in the middle in pass rush win rate though they have been susceptible to the pass, but we are only worried about getting after the quarterback in this case.
Having tracked edge rushers throughout multiple leagues, I have noticed that Harold Landry III and K’Lavon Chaisson have been on the field most, with Landry posting 4.5 sacks this season and Chaisson tallying 2.5, making Landry owned in more leagues but still having plenty of availability, while Chaisson is free in essentially every league.
On the interior, Milton Williams and Christian Barmore have played most, and while Barmore had 8.5 sacks in 2023, he otherwise never topped 2.5 and doesn’t have one this year, whereas Williams is the better fantasy player and is available in pretty much every league. Landry and Williams are good pickups for managers seeking reliable option plays, Chaisson serves as a decent Plan B, and Barmore remains a lower level option who’s more of a desperation plan than a player to go after unless you have no other choices.
Linebackers
Atlanta Falcons San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have run more plays per game than any other team this season, and more plays mean more chances to rack up defensive stats, with no one generating more production than linebackers who get positioned to capitalize on every snap.
San Francisco often operates through their running back, Christian McCaffrey, which sets up well for opposing linebackers to be involved in both the run game and pass game, creating a high ceiling matchup for Atlanta’s defense this week.
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The guys in question are Divine Deablo and Kaden Elliss, who have played essentially every defensive snap for the Falcons, and while they are both owned in some leagues, there’s still plenty of availability since they might not be free everywhere but remain widely accessible for streaming purposes.
Elliss is third on the team with 27 tackles and Deablo fourth with 23, and Elliss has 1.5 sacks while Deablo has defended four passes, proving these guys are consistently involved on defense and will get plenty of chances to put up stats against the 49ers. From my experience managing fantasy rosters, MatchUp volume is king for linebacker production, and when a team forces you to make tackles across both run and pass situations, the value becomes undeniable.
I will give Elliss the slight advantage, but they are close to the same in terms of fantasy value and both worthy of a spot as streaming options who come in different form factors but deliver the same defensive upside that stats seekers need in deeper leagues where finding available plays matters more than chasing one elite name.
Miami Dolphins Cleveland Browns
The Browns are second in offensive plays per game, right behind San Francisco, and it has been a years long trend for Cleveland as they threw the ball 52 times on Sunday, creating a situation where linebackers get a lot of chances against the Browns due to sheer volume.
The men in the middle of the defense for Miami are Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson, and from my experience tracking fantasy options across multiple leagues, Brooks is owned in most formats, so you’re looking more for Dodson if he plays after he missed Week 6 with a concussion and needs to clear protocol before returning.
In his place was K.J. Britt, who is a low level streamer if Dodson is out and you need someone to fill in, though Britt remains a fallback option rather than a primary target given his limited upside. Miami doesn’t have a very good defense, which might seem concerning, but there could be a lot of excitement when the Browns are on the field given how many plays they run, meaning the defenders are going to benefit from a volume standpoint regardless of overall unit quality.
Making Brooks, Dodson, and Britt (in that order) good fantasy options in Week 7 becomes straightforward when you understand that Cleveland will force opposing linebackers to stay on the field constantly, generating chances through offensive pace that feeds defensive production even if Miami struggles elsewhere, and for managers seeking reliable streamer plays, this matchup offers exactly what you’re looking for without requiring elite talent.
Defensive Backs
Cleveland Browns vs. Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa is third in the league with seven interceptions, and three of those came last week, though they weren’t necessarily all his fault, Tagovailoa has been susceptible to turning the ball over this season, which becomes even more concerning given he is also short on options in the passing game with Tyreek Hill out, forcing more passes into danger as guys struggle to get open.
Denzel Ward is Cleveland’s top corner and a player worthy of fantasy consideration after he has deflected five passes and intercepted another while playing essentially every snap, making him a rare cornerback who delivers consistent production in multiple categories and represents a fantastic pickup who might be a weekly keeper rather than just a streaming spot.
The team traded Greg Newsome II to Jacksonville for Tyson Campbell, who played 90% of the snaps in Week 6, immediately stepping into the second cornerback spot and offering a fine Plan B if you miss out on Ward.
The two safeties who have played most of the snaps are Ronnie Hickman and Grant Delpit, and they are third and fourth, respectively, on the team in tackles with 39 and 34, while Delpit has defended three passes and intercepted another compared to Hickman having one defended pass, establishing Delpit as the better playmaker so far.
From my experience targeting defensive backs in fantasy leagues, exploiting quarterbacks who show vulnerability to interceptions creates tremendous upside, and with Miami coming to town, Hickman and Delpit are both good safety options that benefit from Tua’s tendency of turning the ball over, especially when his receiving corps forces him to hold passes longer than ideal for his protection.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Geno Smith has thrown more interceptions than any other player, posting a whopping 10 in six games, and while I kept thinking he would work it out because Smith hasn’t been interception prone in the past, the picks keep coming, forcing us to react accordingly by targeting the defensive backs going against Smith who have IDP value every week, with this week that lucky group belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Three cornerbacks have pretty much never left the field: Trent McDuffie, Chamarri Conner, and Jaylen Watson, though Conner is more of a safety/cornerback hybrid, so you’ll have to see where he slots in for fantasy purposes, but he doesn’t leave the field regardless of designation.
From my experience managing fantasy rosters across multiple leagues, versatile players like Conner offer tremendous upside since he is second on the team with 51 tackles, a product of lining up as a safety more, and he has forced two fumbles, while McDuffie has 26 tackles, six defended passes, and an interection, and Watson has 30 tackles, three defended passes, and an interception.
The other safeties who have been on the field are Bryan Cook and Jaden Hicks, with Cook being more involved, playing about 100 more snaps and racking up 25 tackles to 15 for Hicks, making them lower level fantasy players than the three listed above but still serviceable in deeper formats.
McDuffie, Watson, and Conner are all worthy fantasy players this week, with Conner a little more owned across fantasy platforms but the others remaining widely available, and Cook is an OK Plan B if you are otherwise without a good option when streaming defensive backs against quarterbacks who struggle with turnovers like Smith does.