Week 5 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings and Streamers feat. Colts, Cardinals, and more

Week 5 of the 2025 fantasy football season has arrived and all managers should now be preparing their lineups. This is the first slate of the year that will not feature all 32 teams as four of them are on their bye weeks. Managers will have less options to choose from, incluidng which defense they will start.

Picking the right defense is largely based on weekly matchups, opposing quarterbacks, and proven production. Taking all of these factors into consideration helps to produce the positional rankings as well as some options for weekly streamers. Here are the top 12 overall for Week 5 fantasy footbalol and three streamers available in more than half of all leagues.

Fantasy Football Defense Rankings for Week 5

Rank	Week 5 Defense	Opponent
1	Minnesota Vikings	vs Cleveland Browns (London)
2	Detroit Lions	at Cincinnati Bengals
3	Arizona Cardinals	vs Tennessee Titans
4	Cleveland Browns	vs Minnesota Vikings (London)
5	Indianapolis Colts	vs Las Vegas Raiders
6	Buffalo Bills	vs New England Patriots
7	Seattle Seahawks	vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8	Houston Texans	at Baltimore Ravens
9	Denver Broncos	at Philadelphia Eagles
10	Los Angeles Chargers	vs Washington Commanders
11	Los Angeles Rams	vs San Francisco 49ers
12	Philadelphia Eagles	vs Denver Broncos

Fantasy Football Defense Streamers for Week 5

Week 5 defenses

#3 - Indianapolis Colts (vs Las Vegas Raiders)

The Indianapolis Colts have finished among the top five weekly defenses in two of their four games so far. They have done so by totaling ten sacks and forcing six turnovers, which could be extremely useful in their Week 5 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Geno Smith has already been sacked 12 times and thrown seven interceptions this year, so he should present the Colts with plenty of scoring opportunities, especially with the game being played in Indianapolis. They are currently owned in just 29% of all fantasy football leagues, making them an ideal streamer this week.

#2 - Cleveland Browns (vs Minnesota Vikings in London)

The Cleveland Browns defense has finished as the DST18 or worse in three of their four games so far. A matchup against the Minnesota Vikings still makes them a solid streaming option.

Carson Wentz has been relatively solid filling in for JJ McCarthy, but he has also been favorable for fantasy football defenses. This includes throwing two interception and getting sacked seven times last week. The Browns defense is owned in just 7% of all leagues, so they are a strong pickup for this week.

#1 - Arizona Cardinals (vs Tennessee Titans)

The Arizona Cardinals defense is currently averaging two sacks and a turnover per game, making them a solid lineup option when playing in the right matchups. Week 5 should be one of them when they take on Cam Ward and the struggling Tennesse Titans.

The rookie quarterback has already been sacked a massive 17 times and he has also thrown an intercpetion in each of his past two games. This makes the Cardinals an intriguing streamer and they are still available in 71% of all leagues.