RADIO
Kipp Heisterman picks his All-Stream Team for Week 16. These fantasy football free agents could be valuable streamers and waiver wire pickups or adds.
It is likely championship week for most of you, which means everything is on the line. Hopefully, many of you have a team set in place and do not need streaming options, but if you are here reading this article, it is likely you need some help at some position. My goal is to provide that help.
Each week, I will create a team of streamers for you to choose from. They will be broken down based on ownership levels and league size. I will make specific recommendations for 14, 12, and 10-team leagues to give you the most guidance possible when selecting a streamer. 14-team streamers will be players with ownership levels around 15%, 12-teamers will be around 30%, and 10-teamers will be around the 45% mark. Keep in mind that just because a player is listed as a streamer for a particular league size, it does not mean you can't use them in a different league size. For instance, if a 12-team league streamer is available in your 14-team league, by all means, use them accordingly.
Let's take a look at Week 16's best streaming options with some highlighted players to keep an especially close eye on.
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Stream Team for 14-Team Leagues
- QB: Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals - 8% Owned
- RB: Chris Thompson, Washington Redskins - 14% Owned
- RB: Peyton Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 23% Owned
- WR: Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers- 15% Owned
- WR: Kenny Stills, Houston Texans- 16% Owned
- TE: Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 5% Owned
Andy Dalton (QB, CIN) - 8% Owned
I do not love this recommendation, but the quarterback position is getting rather slim in 14-team leagues and I certainly do not feel comfortable recommending Will Grier in his first career start at Indianapolis. Dalton has a very soft matchup vs. the Dolphins this week and should be able to put up a solid stat line.
The Dolphins have allowed the 10th most passing yards per game (266.8), second-most passing touchdowns (33), and fifth-most fantasy points per game (20.9) to the quarterback position. Just last week, they allowed Eli Manning to go 20/28 with 283 passing yards and two touchdowns. While Andy Dalton has not been the model of consistency this season, he should be able to attack this defense and return solid value for a stream option.
Peyton Barber (RB, TB) - 23% Owned
Peyton Barber finds himself on the stream team for the second week in a row after putting up a somewhat disappointing stat line last week. He received the double-digit carries we expected, but was unable to do much with them vs. the Lions. This week, he gets another solid matchup vs. the Texans Defense.
Over the previous four weeks, Houston has given up the sixth-most rushing yards per game to backs with 143.25 yards. Barber has seen double-digit carries in six of the last eight games and we would expect to see the same this week. While the total is one of the highest on the board and would point to more passing, the Bucs will be without Mike Evans and likely Chris Godwin, therefore we could see a little more running from the Bucs than usual. Either way, this play is in no way safe, so beware of the risk if you decide to go this route.
Kenny Stills (WR, HOU) - 16% Owned
Kenny Stills get s a solid matchup this week vs. one of the worst secondaries in the league in Tampa Bay.
The Bucs have allowed the most receiving yards per game (202.4), second-most receiving touchdowns (21), and most fantasy points per game (30.6) to the wide receiver position this season. Last week, vs. a stronger Tennessee secondary, Stills managed to haul in three passes for 35 yards and two touchdowns, which was good for a fantasy point total of over 18. While the volume is not what we would hope to find in a streamer (nine targets in the last three weeks), this is a spot where he could smash, especially if the game gets into a shootout as the 40.5-point total suggests.
Stream Team for 12-Team Leagues
- QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins - 27% Owned
- RB: Kerryon Johnson, Detroit Lions - 39% Owned
- RB: Patrick Laird, Maimi Dolphins - 42% Owned
- WR: Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans- 25% Owned
- WR: Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills- 42% Owned
- TE: OJ Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 42% Owned
Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB, MIA) - 27% Owned
Ryan Fitzpatrick has put up solid performances in three of the past four weeks and gets a solid matchup at home this week vs. the Bengals.
The Bengals have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks by allowing 19.4 points per game. They have also given 18 passing touchdowns to only seven interceptions and have allowed over 240 passing yards per game. The Dolphins have almost zero run game to speak of as they rank dead-last in the league in rushing yards per game with 71.2 yards. The risk with this play is that both of these teams have nothing to play for except the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, so winning may not be a top priority for Miami. This set aside, Fitzpatrick should still be able to put up a solid stat line, and at a minimum, should not hurt your chances.
Corey Davis (WR, TEN) - 25% Owned
Corey Davis has largely been a disappointment this season. He came into the year without a lot of hype, but has failed to live up to it. This week may be an opportunity for him to have a breakout game, however, as he goes up against a rough Saints Defense.
The Saints have allowed the sixth-most receiving yards per game (175.9), ninth-most receiving touchdowns (16), and fifth-most fantasy points per game (26.3) to the wide receiver position. Add in the fact that this game has the highest total on the board at 50.5, and you have a recipe for high pass volume. Marshon Lattimore should also be covering A.J. Brown, which means Eli Apple or P.J. Williams will be covering Davis. This is a great spot for him to take advantage of a weak matchup and possibly put up the best game of his 2019 campaign.
OJ Howard (TE, TB) - 42% Owned
OJ Howard has seen more success as the season has progressed and finds himself in a solid matchup this week vs. Houston, especially with the likes of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin expected to be out of the lineup.
The total in this game is 49.5, which would signal more passing. The Texans have had some struggles with the tight end position this season as they have allowed the 11th-most receiving yards (787) and the seventh-most fantasy points per game with 8.2 points to the position. They have also allowed five receiving touchdowns to tight ends. As mentioned above, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will not be active in this game and therefore Winston will have to look elsewhere for his targets. Howard should see plenty of action given this information. He has 19 targets in the previous three games and has averaged just over 10 fantasy points per game in these contests. He is a solid stream this week.
Stream Team for 10-Team Leagues
- QB: Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers - 60% Owned
- RB: Adrian Peterson, Washington Redskins - 56% Owned
- RB: Tarik Cohen, Chicago Bears - 63% Owned
- WR: Zach Pascal, Indianapolis Colts - 45% Owned
- WR: Breshad Perriman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 43% Owned
- TE: Jacob Hollister, Seattle Seahawks - 61% Owned
Philip Rivers (QB, LAC) - 60% Owned
Philip Rivers gets the Oakland Raiders this week and that is a good thing for fantasy owners and streamers alike.
The Raiders have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season and only rank behind the lowly Arizona Cardinals. They rank here because they allow 278.5 passing yards per game and have given up 32 passing touchdowns on the season. Rivers has averaged over 20 fantasy points per game in the previous three weeks and should be able to achieve close to this against Oakland as well.
Tarik Cohen (RB, CHI) - 63% Owned
Tarik Cohen has not been mentioned in this article many times this season, but finds himself in this article for two main reasons this week.
The first reason is that the Chiefs are favored by 5.5 points, which means the Bears will likely be throwing the ball more than usual and Cohen is a great pass-catching back. He has been targeted 90 times this season and has managed to haul in 67 receptions for 387 yards and three touchdowns. If the Bears fall behind in this game as expected, Cohen could have a major role, which is a very good thing and leads us to our second reason he makes a solid stream and that is because Kansas City struggles mightily against pass-catching backs. They have given up the eighth-most receptions to running backs with 81 and have allowed 805 receiving yards, which is worst in the league. They have also given up five receiving touchdowns to backs, which ranks fourth-worst in the league.
Breshad Perriman (WR, TB) - 43% Owned
Breshad Perriman is an obvious stream this week with Godwin and Evans expected to miss time. He will step in as the de facto number one wide receiver for Jameis Winston vs. a bad Houston pass defense.
The Texans have allowed 162.4 receiving yards to wideouts per game and have given up 16 touchdowns to the position on the season. They have also allowed an average of 23.1 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, which ranks 13th-worst in the league. Couple this with the fact that Perriman has seen a larger role in the past few weeks (13 receptions on 17 targets for 270 yards and four touchdowns) and he should be primed for another breakout game.
