The Las Vegas Raiders are tied atop the NFL with eight sacks. They're also a top-five scoring defense, allowing 13.5 points per game. Their five takeaways are second in the league. Upgraded talent has, of course, helped, in tandem with defensive coordinator Rob Leonard's exemplary work.
Las Vegas has also posted 25 total fantasy points thus far (in Yahoo! scoring), which is tied for the fourth-most from a defense/special teams (D/ST). When's the last time the Silver and Black had a top-five defense, in any capacity?
Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints looks to be a challenging matchup for Leonard's unit. The Saints are one of the fastest-paced offenses in the league and are also top-10 in yards and scoring through two games. The Raiders simply haven't faced anything like that yet so far.
But for fantasy managers who are looking to stream defenses each week, the Raiders have a level of appeal that can't be ignored for Week 3.
Las Vegas Raiders D/ST looks to be a risk-reward option for Week 3
Through two games, the Saints have allowed eight sacks (second-most in the league). Tyler Shough has played well overall, but the two interceptions he threw against the Detroit Lions in Week 1 looked pretty bad, and Pro Football Focus has credited him with three of the eight sacks he has taken.
New Orleans' offense has also been a tale of two halves through two games, as noted by ESPN's Ben Solak when he passed along some noteworthy numbers after Week 2.
"32.9%: The Saints' offensive success rate in the first half, which is 29th league-wide. They're 27th in EPA per play and in yards per play, as well. And what about the second half? Great question. Including overtime, they are eighth in success rate (50%), sixth in EPA per play and 11th in yards per play."
By contrast, the Raiders have allowed 14 second-half points through two games. So, something is going to have to give this Sunday. The Raiders' ability to get after Shough has been given a big boost by the absence of Saints left tackle Kelvin Banks, who suffered an ankle injury and will miss Week 3.
That means that New Orleans will have two backup-caliber offensive tackles going up against Maxx Crosby, Kwity Paye and Malcolm Koonce. Leonard will surely dial up some pressure schemes to further put overmatched players in a blender.
As expected, the Raiders D/ST is only rostered in 5% of Yahoo! leagues and 2% of ESPN leagues. And even after Week 3 waivers go through, they shouldn't be heavily owned in any fantasy football database.
The Saints could very well score a lot of points on Sunday. But sacks and takeaways are the name of the fantasy game for a defense. The Raiders are well in line to pick up a handful of those, with the prospect of a touchdown on defense to further offset the possibility of allowing a lot of points.
Las Vegas' defense could put up a negative fantasy score in Week 3, or it could put up double-digit fantasy points for a third straight week. That range of outcomes has to be accepted when plumbing the depths of streaming defenses in any given week, though.
And going against the grain in a traditional or DFS lineup is a way to differentiate yourself and win.
Add us as a preferred source on Google