I have these 2 Defenses:
New Orleans - Ranked #5 Rest of Season
Indianapolis - Ranked #7 Rest of Season
Another Manager Dropped:
Los Angeles Rams - Ranked #3 Rest of Season
Should I drop New Orleans or Indianapolis for the Los Angeles Rams Defense. Los Angeles seems to have a difficult ROS schedule.
Ah, D/ST ranking. One of my favorite topics. 
#20 in weeks 11-14.
#10 in weeks 15-17 (fantasy playoffs).
They have a great matchup in week 14 (Jets), and okay matchups in weeks 16 (Dolphins) and 17 (Panthers).
They are not startable in weeks 11, 12, 13 and 15, though.
#23 in weeks 11-13, a bye in week 14.
#13 for the fantasy playoffs.
They have one good game in week 13 (Texans), but that’s it.
The reason why they are one of the better D/STs is because they had one of the better schedules so far. They do not have one of the better schedules ahead of them.
#15 in weeks 12-14.
#15 for the fantasy playoffs.
Not a great schedule, but still better than the Colts.
And unlike the other 2, they performed better than their schedule so far.
They have great matchups in weeks 13 (Jaguars) and 17 (Ravens).
Weeks 12 and 16 don’t look so good, though.
The Saints aren’t the best complement to the Rams, schedule-wise, but still a lot better than the Colts. So drop the Colts and add the Rams.
Here’s a follow-up question:
Since the Rams Defense has a tough schedule, would it be worthwhile picking up the Eagles Defense which has a very easy schedule - Jets, WFT twice and Giants twice including WFT twice during the Weeks 15-17 playoffs?
Absolutely! The Eagles are exactly the team I intend to pick up this weekend. They have performed as expected so far, and have indeed a very favorable schedule after this week.
I should explain, the rankings I mentioned above are exclusively opponent rankings, not factoring in how well the D/ST itself performed so far.
The opponent strength is a key factor when evaluating a D/ST. But you also need to look at the team itself. I didn’t do that previously, but now added a metric to my rankings this offseason, and the results are great.
One example: the Jags have the best playoff schedule (week 15-17) of all NFL teams. They also have the #3 matchup next week.
But they also had the #10 schedule in weeks 1-10, but are only the #25 D/ST. In other words, they don’t capitalize on their opportunities. So I won’t touch them, despite their favorable schedule.
That’s what I mean when I say a team is overperforming / underperforming / performing as expected.
Biggest overperformers are the Cards (#26 schedule in weeks 1-10, but #2 D/ST, so overperforming by 24 slots), Titans (#28 schedule, #6 rank, overperforming by 22) and Cowboys (#24 schedule, #4 rank, overperforming by 20). These 3 teams can be started even in unfavorable matchups, if you don’t have a better alternative.
Biggest underperformers are the Jets (#10 schedule, #32 rank, underperforming by 22), Bengals (#2 schedule, #23 rank, underperforming by 21) and Chargers (#5 rank, #25 rank, underperforming by 20). These teams should be avoided entirely, no matter how tempting the matchup looks.
I still need to refine the metrics a little, as they do carry a few flaws. But overall, this metric works very well. In my main league, where I stream D/STs based on my stats, I lead the league in D/ST scoring by a wide margin.
Should I use a high waiver priority number to try to pick up the Eagles Defense?