Fantasy Football Week 15 Defense Rankings and Streamers feat. Falcons, Panthers & Vikings

With Week 15 upon us, the fantasy football playoffs are either here or about to be here for fantasy football managers. This means it is officially time to avoid panic and evaluate all available options carefully for your lineup. A major part of success is streaming positions or players based on their matchups and defenses deserve more attention than they typically get.

To maximize your chances of winning, every point matters and some defenses have been putting up major numbers in fantasy football. However, the highest-scoring defenses are likely taken, so a streamer could be your path to victory.

Let's take a look at the defensive rankings based on their projections for Week 15:

Fantasy Football Week 15 Defense Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints (vs. Giants) - 8.52
2. Cleveland Browns (vs. Bears) - 7.63
3. Miami Dolphins (vs. Jets) - 7.27
4. San Francisco 49ers (@ Cardinals) - 7.18
5. Atlanta Falcons (@ Panthers) - 7.13
6. Tennessee Titans (vs. Texans) - 6.94
7. Carolina Panthers (vs. Falcons) - 6.91
8. Kansas City Chiefs (@ Patriots) - 6.88
9. Chicago Bears (@ Browns) - 6.84
10. Houston Texans (@ Titans) - 6.78
11. Green Bay Packers (vs. Buccaneers) - 6.77
12. Philadelphia Eagles (@ Seahawks) - 6.74
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (@ Colts) - 6.74
14. Los Angeles Rams (vs. Commanders) - 6.67
15. Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Vikings) - 6.53
16. Detroit Lions (vs. Broncos) - 6.52
17. Indianapolis Colts (vs. Steelers) - 6.46
18. Seattle Seahawks (vs. Eagles) - 6.44
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Ravens) - 6.40
20. Buffalo Bills (vs. Cowboys) - 6.37
21. Los Angeles Chargers (@ Raiders) - 6.35
22. Baltimore Ravens (@Jaguars) - 6.30
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@ Packers) - 6.29
24. Dallas Cowboys (@ Bills) - 6.21
25. Minnesota Vikings (@ Bengals) - 6.16
26. New York Giants (@ Saints) - 6.09
27. Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Chargers) - 5.89
28. New York Jets (@ Dolphins) - 5.86
29. Denver Broncos (@ Lions) - 5.78
30. Washington Commanders (@ Rams) - 5.49
31. New England Patriots (vs. Chiefs) - 5.46
32. Arizona Cardinals (vs. 49ers) - 5.44

While many of the best defenses above are likely taken, if they happen to be free, pick up the Jets, Saints or Browns especially, as they are running hot right now. For those in leagues without such a bounty of defenses at your disposal, streamers can be crucial, so let's take a look at three in particular.

Fantasy Football Week 15 streamers

#1, Atlanta Falcons (@ Carolina Panthers) - 7.13 points projected

Fantasy Football Week 15 streamers - Atlanta Falcons

While the Falcons' defense is underrated, it hasn't often put up encouraging numbers in fantasy football and is the 24th-ranked defense in point-scoring. This is largely why Atlanta's defense is only rostered in 23.8% of leagues.

On the season, they have recorded 27 sacks, 7 INTs, 8 fumble recoveries, 1 safety and 1 TD. This is good for 82.00 points in fantasy football, but there is a good reason to risk them in Week 15.

The Falcons play the Panthers, who are having a nightmare of a time scoring TDs in 2023 and have scored 197 points in total. Atlanta's D put up 12 points against Carolina in Week 1 via 2 sacks and 2 INTs and the Panthers have regressed offensively throughout the season. With 7.13 points projected, you could do a lot worse than trust the Falcons here.

#2, Carolina Panthers (vs. Falcons) - 6.91 points projected

Fantasy Football Week 15 streamers - Carolina Panthers

This may be an unexpected pick and starting the defense of a 1-12 team is a risk, but there is some method in this madness. While their opponents mentioned above could be in for a big day on defense, so could the Panthers.

Carolina's D does spend more time on the field than it would like, but that can result in more opportunities for sacks and turnovers. While that has not been the case so much this year, Atlanta is far from reliable on offense and the Panthers are not as bad defensively as their 1-12 record suggests.

On the season, Carolina has recorded 20 sacks, 7 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 TDs and 1 return TD. Totaling 53.00 points, this is the 31st-ranked defense for fantasy point-scoring, which again highlights that they are a risk. As such, the Panthers' D is rostered in only 0.7% of leagues, so they are almost certainly going to be available.

The Falcons are 22nd against defenses this season, giving up an average of 7.85 points per game. If the Panthers are to spring the trap at home against their NFC rivals, it will be on the back of some turnovers and sacks, so if you believe that will happen, this defense is worth at least a look.

#3, Minnesota Vikings (@ Bengals) - 6.16 points projected

Fantasy Football Week 15 streamers - Minnesota Vikings

After Kirk Cousins went down for the season, the Vikings have been a very strange team and have progressively declined on offense. You think that would mean they are out of the playoff hunt, but thanks largely to their defense that is not the case.

Minnesota stands at 7-6 and has definitely not given up on the postseason. The Vikings D is coming off a 20-point display in the 3-0 win against the Las Vegas Raiders and will be eying a Cincinnati Bengals side without Joe Burrow with optimism.

This defense has put up some big scores in five games this season, (17, 21, 10, 11, 20 points) and has kept the team in games when the offense stalls. On the season, Minnesota's D has recorded 36 sacks, 10 INTs, 9 fumble recoveries and 2 TDs, good for 113.00 fantasy points which ranks seventh.

The Bengals are not the team they were with Joe Burrow at QB, and in a battle of backups, mistakes could come frequently. There are certainly worse options than the Vikings' defense, which is rostered in only 21.7% of fantasy football leagues.