Week 7 got off to a great start for D/ST, unfortunately for the purposes of this article it was in the Thursday night game between Arizona and Denver. Denver lead all D/ST (33 points in ESPN’s default scoring) followed by the Rams and Colts. This week’s Thursday night game saw the two D/ST not have much success (Houston 3 points in ESPN default scoring and Miami with -6 points). I”m sure a lot of owners started these two teams.

This week’s most expensive DFS defense is the Chicago Bears playing at home against the New York Jets. I like anther team I’ve picked below even more. Read on for my Week 8 picks followed by some IDP Targets from these games. Good Luck in Week 8 and the rest of this Fantasy Season!

D/ST

Kansas City Chiefs vs Denver Broncos ($2,600 – DK / $3,900 – FD)

The Chiefs are a riskier pick than the teams to follow, but have been playing better of late. The Broncos are coming off of a good game against a young Arizona team, but against normal competition they’ve had trouble scoring this year. Denver’s quarterback Case Keenum may feel extra pressure if the Chiefs get off to a good start, and in the past when he feels pressure it has lead to interceptions. The Chiefs don’t have a great pass rush, but against the Bengals a week ago they were regularly in the backfield pressuring Andy Dalton and sacked him twice. The Broncos line is comparable to the line in Cincinnati and the Chiefs should have success again this week applying defensive pressure to Case Keenum. I’m starting the Chiefs over the Washington Redskins who were my next choice for this spot in Week 8 D/ST Start’em.

Indianapolis Colts @ Oakland Raiders ($2,900 – DK / $4,400 – FD)

I’m starting the Colts in a couple of leagues this week, but I don’t feel the trade of Amari Cooper hurts or helps the Colts chances this week. While the Raiders are down another receiver he has only been a factor in two of seven games this year, and the Raiders will likely slide Martavius Bryant into the starting lineup. The Colts don’t have great cornerbacks, however recent addition Mike Mitchell (formerly of the Steelers and Panthers) has graded as the top safety in the league over the last two weeks by PFF. The Colts also have some young-speedy-athletic players to rush the passer and create negative plays in the opponents backfield. With the return of Marlon Mack at running back the Colts are able to win time of possession and the Colts are also a good team on third down which gives the defense more rest which has made a huge difference. A fresh Colts D/ST should pressure Derek Carr regularly this week and create a couple of turnovers in a win for the Colts on the road.

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills ($3,500 – DK / $4,600 – FD)

The Patriots are my favorite start this week (I bid $31 of a $1,000 budget for the start this week). In Week 7 against the Chicago Bears the Patriots scored two D/ST touchdowns and scored 14 points in ESPN’s default defensive scoring. If not for giving up 31 points to the Bears, New England would have been a top 5 defense in Week 7. This week they shouldn’t have this problem against a Bills offense lacking playmakers and incapable of scoring lots of points. The Patriots should dominate on both offense and defense in Buffalo with Chris Ivory being the best Bills offensive player available this week. I’d expect no less than three sacks and two turnovers for the Patriots defense this week on Monday night.

I also like these D/ST in Week 8: Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49’ers and Arizona Cardinals.

IDP Targets

Chris Jones / Dee Ford (DE/OLB/Chiefs)

Chris Jones and Dee Ford are the Chiefs’ best pass rushers and could be nice bye week fill-ins for leagues that reward sacks, QB Hits, TFL and sack yards. The Broncos gave up two sacks last week despite the dominate win and the Chiefs should be able to duplicate or exceed this number.

Justin Simmons (S/Broncos)

Simmons is the Broncos best all around safety. This week against a Chiefs team that rarely struggles to move the ball, Simmons should be busy all over the field. He’ll be counted on as the last line of defense against running back Kareem Hunt and also a huge part of trying to stop Travis Kelce and the Chief’s receivers in the secondary.

Mike Mitchell (S/Colts)

Mitchell has put up great numbers over the last two weeks. Originally signed due to Clayton Geathers’ concussion Mitchell should once again get the start this week as Geathers is still recovering. The Raiders should be throwing a lot this week trying to catchup to the Colts on the scoreboard and Mitchell will get opportunities.

Arden Key (DE/Raiders)

The Raiders don’t have any great IDP players on their current roster, but a Hail Mary defensive end start that could have success this week is Arden Key. A speed rusher in his rookie year out of LSU, Key could take advantage of a Colts offensive line that isn’t fully healthy.

Kyle Van Noy (LB/Patriots)

Van Noy is the Patriots best linebacker and should lead the team in tackles this week. He also is occasionally involved in blitz packages and could get a sack to add to his tackle totals. Buffalo likes to throw a lot of screen passes as well and Van Noy is an athletic linebacker who excels in coverage and should find success against the Bills in Week 8.

Tremaine Edmunds (LB/Bills)

One of the Bills’ first round draft picks, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is on pace for over 100 tackles in his rookie year. The Bills will see a heavy dose of James White both in the run and passing game this week and Edmunds will be asked to cover White at times. I think most of his tackles this week will come in the second half as the Patriots look to shorten the game by running down the clock.

Against the Grain

New Orleans Saints @ Minnesota Vikings

My against the grain this week I’m picking the Saints D/ST to outscore the Minnesota D/ST. This is probably a bold prediction, I’m not sure if new corner Eli Apple will be ready to play this week and help out a Saints secondary in need of help, but I’m thinking this will be a high scoring game with the Saints coming out on top this time in a rematch of last year’s playoff game with the miracle touchdown from Stephon Diggs. I’m not starting either defense and a one point difference is all it takes for my prediction to ring true.

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