Bye weeks are taking a lot of top defenses out of the picture for Week 7. The Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals won’t be available for fantasy owners. The absence of these teams is noticeable with so many questionable matchups ahead .
Fantasy football rankings 2015: Defense/special teams, Week 7
Here are our consensus Week 7 defense/special teams rankings.
Of course, there are still a handful of great defenses for everyone to take advantage of. The Seattle Seahawks will face a shaky San Francisco 49ers offense. The Arizona Cardinals will have plenty of opportunities for big plays against the 1-5 Baltimore Ravens. The St. Louis Rams will be facing a Cleveland Browns offense that is offering up nearly two turnovers a week along with a pedestrian rushing offense. One of our weekly favorites, the New York Jets, are facing an elite New England Patriots offense, but we’re still ranking them as a fringe top-10 defense for the week.
If you’re suffering from bye week issues, hopefully one of our top-15 defenses are available on your waiver wire. Check out our consensus rankings below.
Defense/Special teams, Week 7
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; SK: Scott Kaliska. Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Green Bay are on bye)
| Rk | Consensus | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | SK |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks | @SF | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Arizona Cardinals | BAL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bills | JAC (London) | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | PHI | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | St. Louis Rams | CLE | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | Minnesota Vikings | @DET | 7 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | HOU | 13 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | New England Patriots | NYJ | 9 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| 9 | New York Giants | DAL | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| 10 | Washington | TB | 10 | 10 | 14 | 11 |
| 11 | New York Jets | @NE | 17 | 11 | 9 | 10 |
| 12 | Atlanta Falcons | @TEN | 8 | 16 | 6 | 18 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | @KC | 15 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | PIT | 19 | 13 | 17 | 14 |
| 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | @CAR | 14 | 14 | 22 | 13 |
| 16 | Houston Texans | @MIA | 25 | 15 | 13 | 12 |
| 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | @WAS | 5 | 22 | 19 | 22 |
| 18 | San Diego Chargers | OAK | 24 | 17 | 15 | 15 |
| 19 | Cleveland Browns | @STL | 18 | 19 | 16 | 20 |
| 20 | Detroit Lions | MIN | 12 | 23 | 18 | 21 |
| 21 | Jackonsville Jaguars | BUF (London) | -- | 18 | 20 | 17 |
| 22 | San Francisco 49ers | SEA | 22 | 20 | 21 | 19 |
| 23 | Indianapolis Colts | NO | 20 | 21 | 24 | 23 |
| 24 | Oakland Raiders | @SD | 16 | -- | -- | -- |
| 25 | Baltimore Ravens | @ARI | 23 | 25 | 23 | 25 |
| -- | Dallas Cowboys | @NYG | 21 | 24 | -- | -- |
| -- | Tennessee Titans | ATL | -- | -- | -- | 24 |
| -- | New Orleans Saints | @IND | -- | -- | 25 | -- |
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SB Nation presents: NFL Week 7 start/sit fantasy advice
