Waiver Wire Picks: Top 3 Defenses – Week 2

Okay, I understand. Here’s the content formatted for the Super-Prompt v11, ready for you to customize wiht your specific details and then paste into your LLM:

🔶SUPER-PROMPT v11 - Evergreen News+, Publish-Only, Feature-Rich🔶

Article Title: Top 3 Fantasy Football Defenses to Pick Up From The Waiver Wire

Site Name: 🔶Forbes.com🔶

Canonical URL: 🔶https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebradshaw/2025/09/10/top-3-fantasy-football-defenses-to-pick-up-from-the-waiver-wire/🔶

Publish Date: 2025-09-10

Author Name: Steve Bradshaw

Author URL: 🔶https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebradshaw/🔶

Keywords: Fantasy Football,Waiver Wire,Defenses,NFL,Rams,49ers,Bears

Teaser: Looking to boost your fantasy football team? Here are three defensive waiver wire options to consider for Week 2.

Article Body:

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 22: Jared Verse #8 and Braden Fiske #55 of the Los Angeles Rams pressure Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium on December 22, 2024 in East rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Getty Images
While the best self" aria-label="fantasy football">fantasy football waiver wire adds mainly come from skill positions, adding the right defense can be crucial.Even though defenses are hard to predict, getting that slot right can be the difference between a win and a loss.

blank" aria-label="Fantasy Football: 4 Players To Add From The Week 2 Waiver Wire" data-ga-track="forbesEmbedly:https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebradshaw/2025/09/08/add-these-players-from-the-week-2-waiver-wire-fantasy-football/">ForbesFantasy Football: 4 Players To Add From the Week 2 Waiver WireBy Steve Bradshaw
Today, we'll be giving you three defensive options to add from your waiver wire, ranked best to worst.All of these defenses must be blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://fantasy.espn.com/football/leaders?lineupSlot=16&scoringPeriodId=1&statSplit=singleScoringPeriod" aria-label="50% rostered or below on ESPN">50% rostered or below on ESPN for the purpose of this exercise.


1. Los Angeles Rams - @TEN
In week one, the Los angeles Rams' defense had a great game, scoring 12 points against the Houston Texans. Between three sacks, one fumble recovery, and one interception, this defense looked great.

Sacks are typically a stat that we can rely on each week, and the Rams had a strong number even without some of their best players getting involved. Jared Verse, who was the 19th overall pick, and Braden Fiske, who was the 39th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, did not contribute to that total.



However, Verse had an blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/jared-verse/101912" aria-label="83.2 PFF pash rush grade">83.2 PFF pash rush grade in his first game, and he had 4.5 sacks last year. Fiske had a 47.7 pass rush grade, but he had 8.5 sacks last year. Expect these two to show up on that stat sheet sooner than later.
In terms of their matchup, the Rams take on the Tennessee Titans and rookie Cam Ward. For starters, this game has a very low blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nfl" aria-label="over/under on fanduel at 42.5">over/under on FanDuel at 42.5indicating that this will be a defensive battle.

Although the Denver Broncos are one of the best defenses in the NFL, no matter their matchup, they had a phenomenal game against the Titans in week one, with 16 points.
This is without blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/cam-ward/133244" aria-label="ward throwing an interception">Ward throwing an interception or even having a turnover-worthy play in week one.Considering that Ward would take risks in college, blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="externallink:https://premium.pff.com/ncaa/players/2024/REGPO/cam-ward/133244/passing" aria-label="leading to 18 turnover-worthy plays in 2024">leading to 18 turnover-worthy plays in 2024there's a good chance that we could see that flaw show up in his second-ever NFL game.
The rams defense is rostered in just 7.2% of ESPN leagues, and they're also my favorite defensive waiver wire option this week.
2. San Francisco 49ers - @No
With the San Francisco 49ers taking on the New Orleans Saints, this is a matchup you should love. The 49ers held up well against the Seattle Seahawks and scored 10 points.
The Seahawks are a much better team when you look at the win total odds on FanDuel. While the Seahawks have -360 odds to win over 5.5 games, the Saints have -200 odds to win just 3.5 games.
In week one, the Arizona Cardinals were only able to score four points, but they had just one sack, zero interceptions, and zero fumble recoveries. Although the 49ers also only had one sack,they were able to make up for it with two fumble recoveries.
Going back over to FanDuel, they expect this to be a defensive game as well. Actually, this game has the lowest over/under of the week at 40.5. The 49ers are 18.9% rostered, and if you can't get the Rams, this is a strong pivot.
HOUSTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 15: Tytus Howard #71 of the Houston Texans drops back to block during an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears during a football game at NRG Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Getty Images
3. Chicago Bears - @DET
Although the 49ers and the Rams are both much better options than the Chicago Bears, if both of those defenses are gone, this is a fine emergency option. Due to an interception and touchdown, the Bears scored 13 points against the Minnesota Vikings.
While that's a bit of a fluke, the Bears also had an impressive three sacks. Not only that, but this defense was missing arguably their best player, Jaylon Johnson.If the Bears are able to get Johnson back next week, that would be a huge boost.
In terms of their matchup, they take on the Detroit Lions, who struggled in week one. It seems clear that the loss of Ben Johnson is hurting their offense, as they scored just 13 points.
For reference, the Green Bay Packers played the Lions last week, and they scored 11 points. FanDuel has the over/under at 47.5, which is a cause for concern, but the hope is that it takes the Lions some time to adjust to a new offensive coordinator.
The Bears are owned in 14.5% of ESPN leagues, and they're a solid pickup from your self" aria-label="fantasy football">fantasy football waiver wire if you miss on the other two options. 

key points:

🔶PLACEHOLDER🔶: Remember to replace all instances of “🔶PLACEHOLDER🔶” with the correct details. This is crucial for the prompt to work correctly.
URLs: Double-check all URLs to ensure they are accurate and lead to the correct pages.
Date: Make sure the publish date is correct.
Copy Everything: Copy the entire block of text above, including the “SUPER-PROMPT v11” header and the closing ““`”.Let me know if you have any other questions or need further assistance!