Week 18 Defense (DST) Streamers For DraftKings DFS: Bills, Broncos and More

Championship week has come and gone, and I hope you have a fantasy championship to show for it. While the traditional fantasy football season may be over, there are still a handful of DFS slates left for those of you looking to grind every advantage before the offseason.

The DST equation in DFS is a bit different because we have to account for the salary constraints that don't exist in traditional fantasy football. Rather than sorting by rostered percentage like I have been all season, this week's article will feature high-priced and low-priced options for you to consider depending on how you fill out the rest of your DFS lineup.

At this time of year, motivation is just as important as matchups. With the most important games scheduled for prime time slots, the Sunday main slate is missing the teams with the most to play for. As the week progresses, we should gain more clarity on which teams are taking Week 18 seriously and who is using it as a glorified bye week to rest up before the playoffs. Be sure to pay attention to roster moves throughout the week to figure out which teams will be down to third- and fourth-string options. Based on what we know now, these are the DSTs I am considering using on my DFS rosters in Week 18.

High-Priced DSTs For Week 18 DraftKings DFS

Denver Broncos ($3,800)

Denver is on the verge of clinching the #1 seed in the AFC and securing a bye plus home-field advantage in the playoffs. They do need to win in Week 18, but they just got a big boost with the Chargers announcing that Justin Herbert will take the week off to rest up for the playoffs. That means the Broncos will face Trey Lance and a bunch of backups in a game that they are motivated to win.

Lance hasn't thrown a TD since the 2021 season and has had minimal playing time for the Chargers this season. He is something of an unknown, but my expectations aren't high, and the matchup won't make things easier. Denver ranks in the top five for both pass rush win rate and rush stop win rate, and the Chargers offensive line is already decimated from injuries and could choose to rest some players in this matchup as well.

Everything points towards Denver dominating in the trenches and Trey Lance is very capable of turning the ball over multiple times, which makes the Broncos defense the highest upside play of the slate.

Houston Texans ($3,700)

Houston remains the best defense in the NFL, and although they are locked into the playoffs, they do still have an outside shot at winning the AFC South if they win in Week 18 and the Jaguars lose. That isn't the most likely outcome, but the possibility should ensure most Houston starters are on the field for the majority of their matchup with the Colts.

Houston is at home for this game and may get to face Riley Leonard if the Colts decide to give the rookie another shot now that they have been eliminated from the playoffs. Indy may even choose to lighten Jonathan Taylor's normal workload, which would take one of the only threats this offense has off the table.

The Texans are currently 10-point favorites in a game with a 40-point total, so the sportsbooks aren't expecting much from the Colts offense, and that aligns with my expectations. Keep an eye out for confirmed starting QB news, and if the Colts do roll out Leonard, then it is all systems go for the Houston defense.

Buffalo Bills ($3,500)

The third of our high-priced trio is a Buffalo Bills team that is coming off a last-second loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. If Buffalo had won, that would have kept them in the hunt for the division title.

Theoretically, the Bills do still have seeding to play for, but they are locked into a Wild Card slot and a road playoff game, so it remains to be seen how many of Buffalo's starters will play in this game. However, this is the rare case where it might not matter how many starters Buffalo plays or how motivated they are because they are playing the Jets.

The Jets have been playing their third- and fourth-stringers for weeks, and Brady Cook is now up to seven interceptions and 18 sacks taken in just four appearances this season. This team gave up on the season weeks ago, and I expect most of their players to be thinking more about vacation plans than game plans heading into this matchup.

On paper, this is the best matchup for any DST, but we will have to wait and see which, if any, of Buffalo's defensive starters are slated for meaningful playing time in this game. That reality makes Buffalo an intriguing DST option, but we will have to pay attention to news throughout the week, as well as ownership projections, to determine if they are a good leverage play or not.

Low-Priced DSTs for Week 18 DraftKings DFS

New Orleans Saints ($2,500)

The Saints have quietly put together a strong end to the season, as Kellen Moore is clearly more interested in establishing a winning culture than tanking for a higher draft pick. Tyler Shough and the offense have gotten most of the attention, but the New Orleans defense has continued to creep up the EPA rankings in recent weeks. That has primarily been due to soft matchups against the Jets and Titans, but they have shown up and taken advantage of those matchups, which counts for something.

In Week 18, the Saints will play a mostly meaningless game on the road against Atlanta. That isn't quite as favorable a matchup as the higher-priced options, but Kirk Cousins is very capable of turning the ball over once or twice in this game.

If you need to pick from the bottom of the barrel to fit in higher-priced options at other positions, I like the Saints as the team that should show up and play like something is on the line, even if it isn't.