Welcome to the Week 2 waiver wire watch!
The 2025 NFL season is finally underway and so too are the fantasy football campaigns for managers across all kinds of different formats. Defense/special teams is the biggest week-to-week streamer position in fantasy and you’re most likely looking into which available unit you should deploy for Week 2. Well, we’ve got you covered.
We’ll go over some D/ST options that you should consider scooping off the waiver wire ahead of Week 2. We’ll classify a waiver add as someone who is rostered in roughly 40% of leagues at maximum.
Los Angeles Rams D/ST (16%)
L.A.’s defense came up big late against the Houston Texans in their season opener and was the deciding factor in the team’s 14-9 win on Sunday. The Texans were marching down the field for a potential go-ahead score in the final two minutes before linebacker Nate Landman successfully Peanut Punched the ball out of Dare Ogunbowale’s arms, allowing teammate Braden Fiske to come through with the game-sealing fumble recovery. That was the unit’s second turnover of the day to go with the three sacks they recorded on C.J. Stroud, netting fantasy managers 11 points for the week.
The Rams will have a favorable matchup in Week 2 when facing a Tennessee Titans offense that was besieged in Week 1. No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward was sacked six times by the Denver Broncos in their matchup and fantasy managers should definitely give L.A. heavy consideration when looking for a D/ST unit this week.
Indianapolis Colts D/ST (15.2%)
The most lopsided outcome on Sunday took place in Indianapolis, where the Colts hammered the Miami Dolphins for a 33-8 victory. The defense terrorized Tua Tagovailoa for the entire afternoon, recording three sacks, two interceptions, and a strip sack off the Dolphins QB to register 13 fantasy points for the week. Tyreek Hill was certainly frustrated about how dominant the Colts defense was in the game.
The Colts will be matched up against the Denver Broncos in Week 2 and they should be licking their chops considering that Bo Nix turned the ball over three times in their opener. Considering that both teams had the top two fantasy defenses in Week 1, this matchup may come down to which unit can make more plays.
Las Vegas Raiders D/ST (4.6%)
Las Vegas’ defense got off to a strong start to the season in its 20-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday. Four different players sacked Pats QB Drake Maye in the victor and they also recorded both an interception and a forced fumble to break even with 10 fantasy points. The Raiders will be tested against the Los Angeles Chargers next Monday night, but they’re capable of putting together another strong performance if they can apply pressure to Justin Herbert throughout the evening.
