You know the fantasy playoffs are approaching when you notice your waiver wire D/ST options go from a Thanksgiving cornucopia to an early winter tundra. In one of my home leagues where there’s usually 15-18 D/STs out there, only 11 remain. Hopefully you’ve taken my advice and already stashed an extra D/ST option to round out your playoff matchups. If not, we’ll take a quick look at a plethora of low-availability options to check for before you bid on a Week 14 option. At this point in the season, picking the best matchups is relatively easy–what’s more challenging is the puzzle of making sure you have access to a good to elite D/ST matchup every week moving forward.

Low Availability-High Upside

• CLEVELAND BROWNS (13.9% Available): Elite defense, absurd ROS schedule. Week 14 matchup with a Jaguars squad gutted by injury. Elite Weeks: 14, 15, 16, 17.
• PITTSBURGH STEELERS (16.9% Available): Fantastic matchup this week with Bailey Zappe and a historically bad Patriots offense. Elite Weeks: 14, Good Weeks: 15.
• BALTIMORE RAVENS (21.0% Available): Rare to find a top 3 NFL defense on the D/ST wire. Week 14 vs injury-riddled Rams in a weather game. Good Weeks: 14, 15.
• ATLANTA FALCONS (21.3% Available): More of a stash option if A.J. Terrell doesn’t play this week. Excellent ROS schedule. Elite Weeks: 15, 17, Good Weeks: 14, 16.
• BUFFALO BILLS (22.8% Available): The top pure stash option. Some difficult matchups now, but coveted Patriots matchup in the fantasy finals. Elite Weeks: 17, Good Weeks: 16.
• NEW YORK JETS (24.5% Available): Another elite defense with a great finals matchup. Also get a shot at a banged-up Texans roster in a weather game this week. Elite Weeks: 17, Good Weeks: 14, 16.

Green Bay Packers (AVAILABLE IN 75.5% OF LEAGUES)

My favorite pickup this week. The Packers’ young team has improved all year and will be a fun one to watch down the stretch. In Week 13 they held Patrick Mahomes to one of his lowest outputs of the season despite missing star CB Jaire Alexander. Rashan Gary continues his ascent into one of the league’s premier pass-rush options, and their missed-tackle rate has improved dramatically over the last few weeks. They have the best D/ST matchup of the week against the Giants, and the third best (by OPRK) in the critical fantasy semi-finals. The Packers also have an interesting matchup with the Vikings in the Week 17 finals. Although Minnesota has been able to move the ball well all year, Josh Dobbs currently leads the league in turnovers and could be a target moving forward. Here’s how the Vikings offense has fared with and without Dobbs in some key D/ST metrics: