Fantasy Football Defense rankings - Week 3 (2024)
With the third week of the NFL season straight ahead, tight end rankings are up along with running back picks . And that means defensive selections have to hover around somewhere. Here are the fantasy football defense rankings for Week 3 in 2024.
Finding the way to the top of the list are the Cleveland Browns , and not so much because of what they've done so far. But they have an excellent matchup at home against the struggling New York Giants.
Brian Daboll, head coach of the Giants, said he knows his offense will be challenged by Browns' defensive end Myles Garrett.
Browns DE Myles Garrett brings a load
Daboll said Garrett is an explosive football player , according to giants.com.
"He's one of the best ones in the league," Daboll said. "They've lined him up in a variety of spots. He's strong (and) powerful, (and) he's got good size. He can run (and he) takes the ball away. You do the best job you can on practicing with the look team, but it's never the same until you're playing a player like that. He's a high-level player in this league, (and) he's been for a long time. He's one of the really good ones (and) certainly a challenge."
Garrett is the defending defensive player of the year. And this year he has a strip sack in each of his first two games. He has 32 sacks since 2022.
However, it's more than just Garrett. The Browns allowed the fewest yards in the league last season, led by the NFL's No. 1 passing defense. Joining Denzel Ward in the Browns' secondary is cornerback Greg Newsome along with safeties Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman.
So roll with the Browns at the top of the fantasy football defense list.
Top Fantasy Football Picks
Another good fantasy football pick is the New York Jets. They will take a questionable offense with a questionable offensive line, at home, against the New England Patriots.
Rounding out the top three is the San Francisco 49ers defense. They will take on a Los Angeles Rams teams that has lost both of its marquee receivers, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. The 49ers could feast on Rams QB Matthew Stafford, who might be generous enough to offer up a pick-six.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said he knows it will be a challenge for his team against the stout 49ers' defense, according to abc7news.com.
"I think the biggest thing for me as a quarterback is (to) just go out there and trust," said Stafford, who will also be playing behind a third new starting lineup on his offensive line. "I trust those guys that they're going to do their job. There's some high-level stuff that guys that I've played with for five or six years that you can talk about and feel good about doing. When you have new guys in different spots, some of that isn't there. But you just go out there, trust that they're going to be in the right spots, throw the ball and let them do their thing."
Other Standouts
Also in the mix for a good fantasy football week are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks. The Buccaneers get a crack at the shaky Denver Broncos' offense, which is piloted by rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
As for the Seahawks, things change for this week because of who is behind center. Tua Tagovailos is out, and that puts Skylar Thompson behind center. Thompson has never been able to show much of a spark despite having amazing fantasy football weapons at his disposal.
Fantasy Football Sleepers
It would not be too much of a stretch to look at the Las Vegas Raiders. But remember, Andy Dalton is actually a fantasy football UPGRADE over previous starter Bryce Young. If Young had still be in the lineup, the Raiders would likely be ranked higher.
A sneak pick would be the Green Bay Packers, who travel to take on the sputtering Tennessee Titans.
