What if I’d told you that Calvin Ridley, Mike Williams, John Brown, and Chris Godwin were all just sitting there on your bench and you didn’t have to spend a single FAAB dollar to get them? Had you visited this article the last few weeks, you could’ve.
Streaming has become an integral part of fantasy football over the last few years. Whether it be quarterbacks, tight ends, defenses, or heck, even running backs and wide receivers at times. If you don’t know what streaming means, it’s where you’ll play a different player at that position each and every week. While it may sound nuts, it works if you know how to approach the waiver wire.
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How many times have you watched your fantasy matchup on Sunday/Monday, only to go search the waiver wire for your streamer next week and see a player available who has a premier matchup that everyone will attempt to pick up? Not anymore. This article is designed to give you a leg-up on your competition. That’s right, we’ll be adding the players before they’re able to. With that being said, here’s the players you should be adding to your fantasy roster on Sunday morning. I’m going to be using Yahoo as the gauge for ownership, and we’ll stick to players who are less than 40 percent owned.
Quarterbacks
Blake Bortles (JAX) at KC
Why would you want to trust Bortles in anything? Well, because the Kansas City defense is absolutely brutal. They’ve now allowed 1,127 yards and eight touchdowns with just one interception. In fact, if their points allowed to quarterbacks morphed into one, they’d rank as the No. 3 fantasy quarterback behind Ryan Fitzpatrick and Patrick Mahomes. They’ll be on the road as well, so expect plenty of pass attempts for Mr. Bortles, who even if he’s off should be able to post a respectable fantasy floor against this defense.
Dak Prescott (DAL) at HOU
It’s hard to recommend Prescott with the receiving corps that he has, but if there’s one team you at least want to consider playing him against, it’s the Texans. Outside of a good run-defense and decent pass-rush (somehow have just seven sacks through three games), they really nothing going for them in the secondary. The Cowboys have the offensive line to withstand the pass-rush, though they’ve really missed Travis Fredrick at center. The gameplan against the Texans has already been laid out by multiple teams with bad offensive lines, so Prescott should at least provide a salvageable stat-line.
Derek Carr (OAK) at LAC
I’ve never liked recommending the inconsistent Carr as a streamer, but the Chargers defense simply isn’t the same without Joey Bosa. They’ve allowed a 65 percent completion rate, 8.91 yards per attempt, and eight touchdowns through three games. The Raiders don’t allow Marshawn Lynch to have three-touchdown games or anything (just one game with two, actually), so knowing the Chargers allowed even the Bills to score 20 points is a good reason to think Carr can throw multiple touchdowns in Week 5.
Running Backs
Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines (IND) at NE
We’ve talked about it before – the running back position is a difficult one to find streamers at, though it’s puzzling that the top two running backs for the Colts are under 40 percent owned. Mack “should” be close to 100 percent by this game, while Hines is clearly the Darren Sproles of the Frank Reich offense, as he played 43 snaps last week compared to just 17 snaps for Jordan Wilkins. Over the last two weeks, the Patriots have allowed 15 receptions for 131 yards through the air to running backs, not to mention the 224 yards on the ground. The Patriots are going to put points on the board against the Colts defense, so why not snag Hines (or even Mack) as a potential breakout performer in Week 5?
Tavon Austin (DAL) at HOU
Mentioned above in the Dak Prescott paragraph, the key to beating the Texans defense is to get the ball out of your hands quickly. While Austin never got the “two dozen” touches that Cowboys said he would get (we knew that), he’s turned his seven touches over the last two weeks into 114 yards and two touchdowns. You think maybe they’ll start giving him the ball more? Inside the Houston dome, on turf, against that defense… probably a good idea. It comes with some risk, but also higher reward than most waiver wire additions.
One to consider if healthy: Darren Sproles (PHI)
Wide Receivers
Ryan Grant (IND) vs NE
If you’ve been watching Colts games, you know Andrew Luck isn’t taking many shots down the field. He’s been dinking-and-dunking his way through games, which will rack up PPR points for his pass-catchers. In a game against the Patriots, who will in all likelihood put up 30-plus points on the Colts defense, expect Luck to get into the 40-plus attempt territory. Grant will likely see Stephon Gilmore in coverage while T.Y. Hilton gets bracketed by two defenders. Gilmore is an above-average cornerback, though he’s still allowed three touchdowns in his coverage this year. This pickup of Grant wouldn’t be for one week, as I believe he can be playable during your bye week issues.
Cameron Meredith (NO) vs WAS
We finally saw Meredith get on the field last week and that’s promising. This move of snagging Meredith is not just for Week 5, though, as he can be streamed in Week 4 if you’d like him to. The Giants is a great matchup for him in the slot, as is Washington in Week 5. He’ll match-up with B.W. Webb in New York, who has been horrific in coverage, and then go on to play second-year cornerback Fabien Moreau in Washington, evading Josh Norman‘s coverage. He may have caught just one pass last week, but he made it count and should see more snaps going forward.
Christian Kirk (ARI) at SF
With Josh Rosen taking over as the Cardinals quarterback, it should positively affect Kirk’s role, as the two have had a connection through the offseason. In fact, the two roomed together, so maybe that’s why we saw Kirk targeted on three of Rosen’s seven targets in his relief appearance against the Bears. The 49ers are going to be without Richard Sherman for a few weeks, so the 49ers game could be a confidence builder for the Rosen/Kirk duo. He’s at least worth a speculative add.
Players who should be higher owned: DeVante Parker (MIA), Rishard Matthews (No Team), James Washington (PIT), Rashard Higgins (CLE)
Tight Ends
Austin Hooper (ATL) at PIT
Through three weeks of the NFL season, the Steelers have allowed 20 receptions for 240 yards and three touchdowns to tight ends. I’m not mathematician, but that’s not good. Their cornerbacks won’t be able to hang with the Falcons wide receivers, but the fact that they’ll use additional resources to try, it should open things up underneath for Hooper. Any game that takes place in Pittsburgh is going to be high-scoring, especially when you have the defense that the Falcons do. Hooper will be a preferred streaming option in Week 5.
Vance McDonald (PIT) vs ATL
There will be a lot of fantasy players wondering why it’s not Jesse James‘ name here, but for those who pay attention to routes run the way I do, you’d know that James is falling out of favor for McDonald, who is the far superior athlete and pass-catcher. It was almost a dead-even split in Week 2, though James got most of the glory in McDonald’s first game back from injury, but McDonald jumped up in Week 3, running nine more pass routes than James, and finishing with 112 yards. The Falcons are now down their top two safeties and best linebacker. It’s really no wonder they’ve allowed 67 points the last two games. McDonald should be considered a solid streamer in that game.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins (JAX) at KC
When looking for a streaming tight end, you’re looking for a high-scoring affair ideally against a team who’s struggled with defending the tight end position. When the Jaguars visit the Chiefs in Week 5, that’s exactly what Seferian-Jenkins will get. The Chiefs have allowed the second-most yardage (287) through three weeks to the position despite only being targeted 23 times, and as much as the Jaguars want to run, they’ll have to keep pace with the Chiefs high-flying offense. Seferian-Jenkins isn’t a sexy option, but outside the top-10 tight ends, who really is?
Players who should be higher owned: Dallas Goedert (PHI), Hayden Hurst (BAL), Mike Gesicki (MIA)
D/ST
Tennessee Titans at BUF
We typically shoot for teams who are at home, but this matchup is too good to pass up. The Titans defensive front is nasty and should wreak havoc on the Bills offensive line. The Titans defense has allowed just 16.7 points per game (third-best in the league) through three weeks and will need to continue to step-up as Marcus Mariota and the offense struggles to put up points. The Bills have allowed an NFL-high 14 sacks through three games, which also included four interceptions.
Carolina Panthers vs. NYG
When looking for a defensive streamer, you always want a solid floor. With the Panthers front-seven against the Giants offensive line, you should have that. Through three games, they’ve allowed 12 sacks on Eli Manning, though he’s only thrown one interception to this point. The Panthers themselves have totaled eight sacks while playing against some of the better offensive lines in football (Cowboys, Falcons).
Other options to consider: Dallas Cowboys at HOU, Arizona Cardinals at SF
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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
