Fantasy football: Why 49ers D/ST is a must start vs. Redskins

If you play fantasy football, you know the struggle it is finding the right defense to start any given week. Well this week, it’s easy: start the San Francisco 49ers defense and special teams.

The San Francisco 49ers defense is primed to be one of the best performers in fantasy football for Week 7. And having a great defense in fantasy football can be a huge advantage. If you’re in a fantasy football league this season, you’ve probably seen how the New England Patriots defense has been dragging fantasy owners to victories.

But if you don’t have New England’s defense, the best move for you has probably been streaming fantasy defenses this season. That is, picking up the best one available based on the matchup. A great performance from your fantasy defense is an easy way to gain an advantage over your opponent.

The best way to gain that advantage for Week 7 will be to start the Niners defense and special teams. While it’s quite possible someone in your league is smarter than you and already grabbed them, there’s always a chance that they are available on waivers.

If they are, lock them up! Or if you have this unit, start it! Here’s why.

First off, the 49ers defense is just awesome. They are a fantastic defense. They straight dominated the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6, holding one of the best offenses of the 2018 NFL season to seven total points and no third- or fourth-down conversions.

The 49ers defense has given up the fewest passing yards per game to opponents out of all NFL teams this season. They have been dominating all of their opponents this season, not just the Rams. The Rams were just a marquee enough opponent to get people to finally respect Niners defense.

The 49ers defensive line has been one of the best in the league. Rookie defensive end Nick Bosa is currently the clear favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year with the way he’s been terrorizing opposing offenses. Oh, and he only just got fully healthy. The rest of the 49ers defensive line has been dominating as well, as Dee Ford, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and others have been proving they are elite NFL defenders.

The Niners secondary has been excellent as well. Richard Sherman is proving he is still an elite NFL cornerback. The 49ers defense has proven that it is one of the NFL’s best units. But that is not the only reason why you’d have to be an idiot to not start them in fantasy this week.

The other reason is the matchup.

The Niners take on the Washington Redskins this weekend. Sure, the Redskins are coming off their first win of the season, but does beating the Miami Dolphins by one point really count as a victory?

The Redskins offense has been horrible this season. So horrible that they fired their head coach, Jay Gruden, two weeks ago. The New York Giants held them to three points. If the Giants can do that, imagine what this 49er defense can do. Against this struggling Redskins offense, the 49ers defense should feast, and your fantasy team could be the beneficiary.

Additionally, the 49ers next few matchups seem to put them in a position for fantasy success as well. In Week 8 they take on the Carolina McCaffreys, I mean, Panthers, whose offense has been disappointing this season. They then get the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9. And while rookie quarterback Kyler Murray has been fun to watch, he shouldn’t be able to do anything against the Niners defensive line.

So, not only will the 49ers defense be a fantasy monster in Week 7, but they should be good the next two weeks as well, which is only another reason to make sure you have them on your fantasy team.

Finally, here’s a few more fantasy thoughts and pieces of advice:

• The Niners offense should be in a place to dominate this week against the Redskins as well. In the past two weeks, running backs Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman have shown that they both have value, and are both solid starts against the Redskins.
• George Kittle has finally started performing as the elite fantasy tight end option he was drafted to be, and there’s no reason why that should stop this week.
• In terms of receivers, while it has been hard to get fantasy production out of any Niner wideouts this season, both Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin could be reasonable starts if you’re in a pinch.
• Jimmy Garoppolo should be a great quarterback streaming option this week because, well, the Redskins.

All in all, you really can’t go wrong starting any 49ers this week in fantasy, but their defense is an absolute must start. There is no reason the 49ers shouldn’t continue dominating in Week 7, and if you play your cards right, your fantasy team can reap the benefits.