Week 6 Streaming QBs and TEs

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.

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 given how much parity there often is at the bottom-half of both positions. Every week, I’ll take a look at some lesser-owned QBs and TEs 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. Also, ownership percentages are from Yahoo leagues.

QB Streamers

Players To Consider Benching This Week:

Tough matchup: Ryan Tannehill (VS. BUF, 12.4 FPG allowed)

In danger of missing: Daniel Jones (Concussion)

Top Streaming Options:

Teddy Bridgewater (DEN) (VS. LV, 18%)

In the four games Bridgewater has started and finished, he’s averaged 18.0 FPG, including a game against the Jets where Denver dominated and he was only asked to throw 25 passes. 18.0 FPG currently ties with Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan for QB17, so Bridgewater is absolutely a viable streaming QB right now. And Bridgewater is playing the best football of his career, his PFF passing grade of 77.2 is a career high, as is his 106.1 passer rating. He draws a tough matchup against a Raiders defense that’s only allowed 16.7 FPG to opposing QBs, but the Broncos are 3.5-point favorites, and Bridgewater has averaged 18.5 FPG as a 2.0-point or more favorite over the last two seasons. He’s far from a sexy streaming option, but teams in need of relatively safe, mid-tier QB2 should heavily consider Bridgewater this week.

{[Mac Jones|QB|NE}} (NE) (VS. DAL, 18%)

Jones is the QB28 thus far, and has scored between 7.4 and 16.9 fantasy points in all five of his games. While that’s far from what we normally look for in a waiver wire QB option, Jones draws his best matchup to date: the Cowboys. Dallas has given up 23.4 FPG to opposing QBs (4th-worst), the 2nd-most passing yards per game (311.0), and their opponents are throwing the ball 70% of the time, the 2nd-highest rate in the NFL. As streaming matchups go, this is exactly what we look for. With the Dallas pass defense this vulnerable and the Patriots as 4-point underdogs, Jones should be in the mid-range QB2 conversation, making him a viable addition to teams in 12+ team leagues desperate for a QB fill-in this week.

Taylor Heinicke (WAS) (VS. KC, 16%)

Taylor Heinicke had scored at least 20.0 fantasy points in every game he started prior to Week 5, when he scored just 9.9 fantasy points against New Orleans in an abysmal offensive performance. Heinicke plays like a more athletic Ryan Fitzpatrick, and that’s going to make him quite the boom or bust QB from a fantasy perspective. Not great in season long, but if he were to draw an ideal matchup, he could absolutely be a great streaming option. And boy, does Week 6 bring an outstanding matchup.

Washington sets up as 6.5-point underdogs to Kansas City, the team that’s given up 28.7 FPG to opposing QBs (worst), 32.6 PPG to opposing offenses (worst), and is PFF’s worst graded defense (46.2). And this game provides one of the highest totals of the 2021 season, at 55.5. There’s arguably no better opponent for Heinicke. He offers a solid rushing floor of 4.7 FPG per game, and should need to throw the ball as much as any QB this week. He’s the top QB streamer in Week 6.

TE Streamers

Players To Consider Benching This Week:

In danger of missing: Rob Gronkowski (Ribs)

Top Streaming Options:

Hunter Henry (NE) (VS. DAL, 47%)

Henry is the TE9 thus far, and has seen much more encouraging usage than teammate Jonnu Smith. Henry has out-targeted Smith 26 to 22, and run nearly double the routes (135 to 71) while lining up as a WR at a much higher rate (75% to 50%). Among TEs, Henry currently ranks 12th in target share, 12th in routes, 10th in targets, and 11th in PFF receiving grade, yet he’s just the 17th-highest owned TE on Yahoo. And he draws a great matchup against Dallas, in a game the Patriots will likely need to throw as 4.0-point underdogs. The Cowboys are a pass funnel, with their opponents throwing on 70% of their plays (2nd-most) and allowing 311.0 YPG as a result. This is the best matchup thus far in 2021 for the Patriots pass offense, and with the way Henry has been playing, he’s the clear top streaming option at TE this week.

Evan Engram (NYG) (VS. LAR, 31%)

Engram hasn’t impressed this year, averaging just 6.3 FPG over the last three weeks. Thankfully for Engram, he’s basically the Giants only healthy pass catcher. Kadarius Toney (leg), Darius Slayton (hamstring), Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and Kenny Golladay (knee) are all dealing with injuries that leave them questionable to suit up in Week 6. If all four players miss Week 6, the Giants will likely be trotting out a starting WR group comprised of C.J. Board, John Ross, and Colin Johnson. In that scenario, Engram gets absolutely fed. Granted, it could be rough sledding offensively for the Giants with QB Daniel Jones (concussion) questionable and Saquon Barkley likely out. Still, with the Giants likely needing to throw and the potential for Engram to be the only capable active pass catcher, the Giants TE could be looking at a double-digit target week. Even with the real risk of an abysmal offensive performance, Engram is an ideal streaming candidate, assuming the Giants have multiple WRs miss time.

Ricky Seals-Jones (WAS) (VS. KC, 2%)

Just as I had predicted last week, Ricky Seals-Jones essentially became Logan Thomas. In Week 5, RSJ ranked 2nd among TEs in total routes (42), tied for 4th in targets (8), 1st in snaps (82), and 1st in end zone targets (3). That’s elite Tier, TE1 usage. And it’s pretty shocking RSJ is still available in 98% of Yahoo leagues after that Week 5 performance. Regardless, he draws a dream Week 6 matchup against KC in the highest-total game of the week (55.5), who’s allowed the 5th most FPG to opposing TEs (11.7). If this were Logan Thomas, we would be talking about him as one of the top TE plays of Week 6. Instead, RSJ is flying under the radar when he should be viewed as a low-end TE1 this week. RSJ is far and away the top TE streaming option in leagues too deep for players like Hunter Henry or Evan Engram to be available.