As suggested by @RadJudyGarland on Twitter, this week we are discussing selecting defenders to be captains in FNWSL. Only about 10-12% of FNWSL managers give the armband to a DF each week. This low percentage is at least partially due to the fact that it only takes one individual moment of brilliance to grab five fantasy points with a goal, but it takes an entire 90+ minutes of team excellence to log five fantasy points with a clean sheet. This means that DFs generally don’t score as many points on a weekly basis. In fact, of the top ten highest scoring FNWSL players so far this season, only one is a defender: Orlando’s Kylie Strom, who slots in at tenth with 86 points. That means that, if you do decide to give the armband to a DF, it’s going to likely be a somewhat risky differential pick no matter what – but you can take steps to minimize the risk and potentially set yourself for a big payoff.
Step 1 is to select a defender on a team that doesn’t often concede. I’d recommend OL Reign and Portland as the two primary options, with Washington and Houston as secondary options (be careful with Gotham – though NJ/NY has only conceded eight times so far this season, they are actually middle of the NWSL pack in xGA with 11.5). If one of these teams has a matchup against a side that doesn’t score often, that’s an even better time to captain a defender. Think Houston, Orlando, North Carolina, and (lately) Chicago.
Step 2 is to focus on defenders that aren’t necessarily dependent on clean sheets for their fantasy points. That way, even if a late goal costs you 5×2 points, it won’t ruin your whole week. I, for example, am still not over Alex Morgan’s 90th minute heartbreaker in Round 6 that cost me 15 clean sheet points. If we remove the clean sheet points, here are the top five scoring DFs in FNWSL:
| Player | Price | Club | Total | Non Clean Sheet Points |
| Kylie Strom | 200 | Pride | 86 | 76 |
| Meghan Klingenberg | 225 | Thorns | 86 | 71 |
| Hailie Mace | 350 | Current | 78 | 68 |
| Alana Cook | 250 | Reign | 80 | 65 |
| Carson Pickett | 400 | Louisville | 78 | 63 |
Klingenberg and Cook are probably the first two I’d favor as DF captains, but unfortunately they are playing each other this week in what could turn out to be a high-scoring Cascadia matchup. Strom and Mace both have better matchups in Round 10, and are probably the only two defenders I would consider captaining this week.
What are your thoughts on captaining defenders? Comment or tweet @MansersAnswers!