I'm one of the 10 or so weirdos on the planet who has a passion for D/STs. In truth, it's a difficult passion to explain to people. Fantasy football is already a niche within a niche, and defensive streaming adds a couple of layers of obscure on top of that. Indeed, even a certain chunk of the fantasy football community is vehemently opposed to defensive streaming.

Whether you share my passion for the D/ST position or you're gritting your teeth and bearing with your league's decision to keep the spot in spite of your repeated requests to the contrary, I'm here to help.

A few housekeeping matters: lines are courtesy of NFL odds, and roster percentages and scores are according to Yahoo's fantasy platform. Assume that the listed order is the preferred order. I'll try for defenses on 40% or fewer of Yahoo rosters.

Carolina Panthers

At Houston Texans
Spread: Panthers -7.5
Roster Percentage: 20%

The "bully the Texans" game plan hasn't worked especially well so far, but in all likelihood, the Houston Texans will start Davis Mills under center this Thursday.

Maybe Mills is the next Tom Brady, but it's hard to find anything to suggest he's an exciting prospect. Mills was just a third-round draft pick and even that was optimistic given his college production. In limited action last week, Mills was just 8 of 18 with an interception, so he hasn't proven to be a hidden gem thus far, and with a talent-deficient roster on a short week, expecting much from Mills seems like a stretch.

The Carolina Panthers' defense has been the fourth-best D on the young season, according to our schedule-adjusted metrics. Needless to say -- the Texans appear to be overmatched in this one.

Defensive streaming is about playing the percentages. Using a 7.5-point favorite that is facing a team with an implied total of 18.00 points is a high-percentage play.

Las Vegas Raiders

Vs. Miami Dolphins
Spread: Raiders -3.5
Roster Percentage: 2%

Backup quarterbacks are the theme this week. At the time of writing, it's unclear whether Tua Tagovailoa or Jacoby Brissett will be under center for the Miami Dolphins. This suggestion feels quite a bit worse if Tagovailoa makes a quick recovery, but a Brissett-led Miami team would be more appealing.

Brissett has a career 8.2% sack rate, and with the Dolphins having an implied point total of 21.00, they aren't expected to light things up on offense.

The Las Vegas Raiders have impressed thus far in 2021, and the defense has exceeded expectations through two weeks. Without a plethora of quality streaming options this week, the Raiders are a solid candidate assuming Brissett starts.

Tennessee Titans

Vs. Indianapolis Colts
Spread: Titans -5.0
Roster Percentage: 3%

The last backup quarterback on this week's carousel is Jacob Eason. Carson Wentz's status is up in the air as of early Tuesday, and Eason would be a great guy to pick on in a road start.

The Tennessee Titans have been among the league's worst defenses this far, so that's not ideal. The hope would be for Eason to be bad enough to counteract the Titans' blah D.

As 5.0-point favorites, the Titans should have a positive gamescript, and Eason having to throw a lot would be good for the Titans' defense.