You’re not playing fantasy football right if you’re not streaming in any of your leagues. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, streaming is the act of rotating starters at a position and playing someone off the waiver wire based on a favorable matchup. There’s a good chance you should be streaming at least one of your positions each week unless you drafted the perfect team this summer — there’s a chance you did since you subscribed to this site!
I’m almost always streaming defenses in all my leagues during the season so I highly encourage you to check out Justin Varnes’ weekly streaming defenses piece. I’m also not afraid to stream at the typical one-starter skill positions like quarterback and tight end. Every week in this space, I’ll take a look at some lesser-owned players you might want to start based on a matchup, increased opportunities, and/or other factors that might boost their value in a given week. I’ll also highlight some typical weekly starters that you might want to shy away from because of a tougher matchup, an injury, and/or playing time issues.
Important note…
These are not strict Start/Sit recommendations. This article is meant to give you players who are widely available and are looking better than usual this week. Conversely, I’ll also give you players who are widely owned and are looking a little worse than usual this week. Also, ownership percentages are from Yahoo leagues.
Quarterback Streamers
Players to consider benching this week
On bye: Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater
In danger of missing: Lamar Jackson (COVID-19)
In tough matchups: Matt Ryan (vs. NO, 7.3 FPG in his previous matchup)
Top options if they’re available…
Taysom Hill (@Atl, 59%) — Everyone is saying Hill is a terrible QB after Sean Payton decided to turtle on the ball last week, a week after everyone said he was the next big thing after his first career start against the Falcons in Week 11. Either way, Hill is great for our purposes with 10 carries, 44+ rushing yards, and two rushing TDs in each of his first two games. I’m expecting him to have success with the deep ball once again this week since the Saints will be back indoors on a fast track with no elements to deal with. It also doesn’t hurt that he’ll face a Falcons defense he averaged 10.1 YPA against just two weeks ago in his first start.
Derek Carr (@NYJ, 57%) — Carr blowtorched everyone who used him as a streamer last week with THREE lost fumbles and an interception in one of fantasy’s easiest fantasy matchups against the Falcons. It was a collective burn-the-tape game for the Raiders, but they have a great spot to bounce back this week against a winless Jets team. I’m considering betting the Raiders this week because I wouldn’t be surprised if Jon Gruden and Carr take out last week’s frustrations on the Jets in Week 13. The Jets had allowed 24+ FP in three straight games before Ryan Fitzpatrick totaled 19.3 FP on 257/2 passing last week.
Players to consider streaming this week
Kirk Cousins (vs. Jax, 40%) — Cousins is rolling right now with 3 TD passes and/or 290+ passing yards in three of his last four games — he’s averaging 22.7 FPG in that span. It helps that OC Gary Kubiak is letting Justin Jefferson spread his wings to become one of the league’s best WRs — he ranks behind just Davante Adams in yards per route run (2.91). Cousins could also get the NFL’s best red-zone receiver back this week in Adam Thielen, who has converted an NFL-best 10-of-15 end-zone targets for touchdowns. The Vikings have an implied team total north of 30 points this week, and the Jaguars have allowed 255+ passing yards and multiple passing TDs to QBs in five straight games. You can continue to use Cousins with confidence this week.
Players to consider streaming the next couple of weeks
Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. Cin, vs. KC, vs. NE — 20%) — FitzMagic is back in the starting lineup for the Dolphins and that means fantasy greatness is available off of the waiver wire. The bearded wonder has topped 18+ FP in six straight starts while averaging 23.0 FPG in his starts since his one dud in the season opener against the Patriots. OC Chan Gailey lets Fitz do his thing when he’s in the lineup as he’s averaging 33.7 attempts per game, and he has 12 passing TDs and two rushing TDs in his last six starts. He gets a great matchup against a Bengals defense that’s allowed the second-most passing TDs per game to QBs (2.2), and Fitz has some appeal against the Chiefs and the Patriots if he continues to start after this week.
Philip Rivers (@Hou, @LV, vs. Hou — 33%) — Rivers is coming off a shaky performance against the Titans, but he got it done for fantasy by chasing production late with 295/2 passing. He now has 260+ passing yards and multiple passing TDs in four of his last six games while averaging a healthy 39.5 attempts per game. The Texans are a tough matchup on paper since they’ve allowed just three passing TDs in their last four games, but they’ve also faced just Jake Luton, Baker Mayfield, Cam Newton, and Matthew Stafford in that span. Houston’s secondary is going to be vulnerable going forward after they lost top CB Bradley Roby for the season due to a PED suspension. PFF has Roby graded as the #19 CB in the league this season, and the Texans currently don’t have another cornerback who has played more than 200 snaps who is graded in their top-115 at the position. Rivers has an immaculate upcoming schedule with two matchups against the Texans and a showdown with the Raiders coming up, and it doesn’t hurt that each of those games will be played indoors on fast tracks without elements in December.
Tight End Streamers
Players to consider benching this week
On bye: Rob Gronkowski
In danger of missing: Mark Andrews (COVID-19)
Top options if they’re available…
Robert Tonyan (vs. Phi, 61%) — Tonyan was the hot TE pickup after his scorching run when he scored 60.3 FP in Weeks 2-4, and he’s starting to pick up steam once again after a mid-season lull. He’s posted five catches for 40+ yards and a touchdown in each of his last two games. His floor has also been solid recently with 3+ catches and 30+ yards in four of his last five games. The Eagles have tightened up against TEs since their Week 9 bye, but this isn’t a matchup to run away since they’re still allowing 14.6 FPG to TEs (6th-most).
Mike Gesicki (vs Cin, 62%) — Gesicki hasn’t lived up to preseason expectations but he’s been a more consistent option in recent weeks since Preston Williams suffered his foot injury in Week 9. He’s posted 35+ yards in four straight games and he ended an eight-week scoreless drought with a touchdown last week. He has a better chance to come through when Ryan Fitzpatrick is in the lineup, and he’ll get one of the friendliest fantasy matchups against the Bengals this week, which just allowed Evan Engram to post 6/129 receiving last week.
Players to consider streaming this week
Kyle Rudolph (vs. Jax, 15%) — Rudolph is on the streaming radar any time that Adam Thielen (COVID-19 list) and/or Irv Smith (groin/back) is out of the lineup like they both were last week. Rudolph had by far his best game of the season with both Thielen and Smith out of the lineup as he posted season-highs in targets (8), catches (7), and yards (68). Rudolph has surprisingly scored just once this season, but he’s still trending upward with 3+ catches in each of his last four games after reaching that mark once in his first seven games. Rudolph has the chance to find paydirt for the second time this season going against a Jaguars defense that’s allowed the most TDs to tight ends per game (.8) this season.
Jordan Reed (vs. Buf, 25%) — Reed is coming off a disappointing performance against the Rams in Week 12 as he managed just 2/18 receiving on six targets (17.1%). However, he could’ve had a much better day with Nick Mullens missing a wide-open Reed on a couple of occasions. Reed played on just 43% of the snaps last week but he ran a route on 67.8% of Mullens’ dropbacks compared to 27.0% for Ross Dwelley. Reed should put up better numbers in the future with his current usage, and he could be on the field a little more this week with the 49ers potentially playing in a negative game script against the Bills as three-point underdogs. The Bills are giving up the most receiving yards per game to TEs (64.2), which includes Hunter Henry’s 7/67 receiving line on 10 targets from last week.
Trey Burton (@Hou, 19%) — Burton is difficult to completely trust with Mo Alie-Cox and Jack Doyle involved every week, but Burton is typically the TE that’s the most involved in the passing game. He played on just 27 snaps (36% share) last week, but he ran a route on 21 of those snaps for 3/42/1 receiving on five targets. More importantly, he has 13 red-zone opportunities since he entered the lineup in Week 4, which ranks behind only Nyheim Hines (15), and he leads the team with four red-zone TDs in that span. The Texans are allowing a generous 8.3 YPT to TEs this season after T.J. Hockenson ripped Houston for 5/89 receiving on eight targets so Burton is worth a look if you’re desperate for TE help.
