Through seven weeks, the Detroit Lions are a top-12 fantasy defense. Last week, with Aidan Hutchinson out, they held their own (23 points allowed, four sacks, one interception). In five of six games this season Aaron Glenn's unit has had at least three sacks-plus-takeaways, and they allowed 13 points in the other.
That said, allowing at least 20 points four times has kept the Lions' defense from reaching double-digit fantasy points five times in six games. There can be concern about the pass rush overall without Hutchinson, but fantasy football is a bottom line business and the Lions got it done there in the first game without their best edge rusher.
The fantasy stars are aligning very well for the Detroit defense in Week 8.
Detroit Lions' defense is a top fantasy option for Week 8
In Week 8, the Lions get the Tennessee Titans at home. Tennessee's offense is next to last in the league in total yards per game, and they've scored more than 17 points once in six games. Mason Rudolph started under center in place of an injured Will Levis in Week 6, but who the quarterback is does not matter one bit.
A Titans' quarterback has thrown at least one interception in every one of their games this season (eight total), and opponents have had at least three sacks four times. Add it up, albeit a little skewed by three defensive touchdowns against them, and you have at Tennessee offense that is ceding the most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses (Yahoo! scoring).
As noted by JJ Zachariason on "The Late Round Podcast", the Titans are allowing the fifth-most adjusted fantasy points per game to opposing defenses and they are allowing the second-highest pressure rate in the league.
If the Lions take care of business like they're expected to on Sunday (10.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook), the Titans will be forced into a pass-heavy game script. The Lions are hard to run on anyway, so the Titans may be forced to pass the ball a lot no matter what. That would be less than ideal for them, and ideal for the Lions' defense.
Entering waivers for Week 8 on Tuesday, the Lions' defense is rostered in 21 percent of Yahoo! leagues, 54.2 percent of ESPN leagues and 16.1 percent of NFL.com leagues. So fantasy managers who stream defenses each week, and that should be quite a few in most leagues, should have the Lions high on their list of options for Week 8. They are the ideal mix of a high floor and a huge ceiling in a great matchup.
