Streaming Picks
At tight end, only Robert Tonyan hit amongst the four recommended. Tonyan caught four of five targets for 39 receiving yards and one touchdown. In a relatively close game, the Colts fed T.Y. Hilton, who typically feasts on the Texans. Unfortunately, it’s tough to rely on Trey Burton or any Colts tight end. What in the world happened to Kyle Rudolph? He faced the second-best matchup for the position and ended up with a giant goose egg on two targets. It looked like a smash spot without Irv Smith Jr. since Rudolph’s snap share, routes, and targets kept trending upwards in recent weeks. A bit frustrating that Rudolph couldn’t deliver in a juicy matchup. Jordan Reed caught a touchdown late, but he’s more of a deep league play given the inefficiencies from Nick Mullens.
Heading into the second Monday night game, all four streaming defense picks ended up in the top-12, so good news there. As we head into the fantasy playoffs, take each matchup week by week. I tend to fall in the camp of lean on the guys that brought you to this point. However, make sure to pay attention to the matchup, trends, and skills to determine whether it’s worth starting these streaming picks over your typical starters. With that said, let’s dive into the Week 14 streaming picks.
Quarterbacks
The quarterbacks listed below include streaming quarterback picks that have multiple fantasy-friendly matchups. Or in Taysom Hill’s case, we have confidence in him due to the rushing ability, assuming Drew Brees continues to miss time. After this section, I’ll list a few streamers to consider depending on the playoff week.
Taysom Hill
- Week 14 at PHI (No. 25)
- Week 15 vs. KC (No. 19)
- Week 16 vs. MIN (No. 15)
At this point, we have a decent idea of the value Taysom Hill provides. Over the past three weeks, Hill ranked 3rd, 13th, and 7th amongst quarterbacks. Although Drew Brees could return from injured reserve in Week 14, monitor the injury news since Hill’s a QB1 with the rushing abilities. Hill’s passing production even ended up better than expected, with 465 passing yards combined in two games with a 71% completion percentage across all three games. Assuming Hill starts at least one more week, he should rank as one of the top Week 14 streaming picks. However, we note that these next three matchups rate more challenging compared to the Falcons in two of the past three games.
Philip Rivers
- Week 14 at LV (No. 9)
- Week 15 vs. HOU (No. 12)
- Week 16 at PIT (No. 31)
Veteran Philip Rivers keeps gutting through a foot injury that reportedly needs offseason surgery. Against the Texans, Rivers threw for 285 passing yards with a pair of touchdowns good for a top-15 finish heading into Tuesday night. Rivers keeps his hot streak alive over the past seven games. During that stretch, he averaged 290.9 passing yards with a total of 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Over the next two weeks, Rivers faces two of the better matchups for quarterbacks in the Raiders and Texans again. If you’re rolling with the likes of Cam Newton, who faces the Rams and Dolphins in the next two weeks, then consider streaming Rivers in the fantasy playoffs. Rivers typically puts up top-15 numbers with the potential to rank inside the top-12 based on the matchup.
Mitchell Trubisky
- Week 14 vs. HOU (No. 12)
- Week 15 at MIN (No. 15)
- Week 16 at JAC (No. 3)
We preface the recommendation of Mitchell Trubisky for deep league consideration only. Even in a fantasy-friendly matchup last week against the Lions, who allow the 7th most fantasy points to quarterbacks, Trubisky laid an egg with 13.28 points (No. 21). However, similar to Rivers, Trubisky faces several friendly matchups over the next three weeks in the fantasy playoffs. Hopefully, fantasy managers don’t need to rely on Trubisky, but he’s worth considering for the playoff run.
One caveat with Trusbisky involves the lack of touchdown upside, meaning he needs to throw for a few or add rushing yards to make him a safer play. In five games this season, he didn’t pass for more than 242 yards outside of last week against the Lions with 267 passing yards. Overall, Trubisky ranks as a risky streaming quarterback pick in Week 14 and beyond.
Deep League Streaming Quarterbacks
Baker Mayfield
- Week 14 vs. BAL (No. 20)
- Week 15 at NYG (No. 29)
- Week 16 at NYJ (No. 4)
Jalen Hurts
- Week 14 vs. NO
- Week 15 at ARI
- Week 16 at DAL
Andy Dalton
- Week 14 at CIN (No. 16)
- Week 15 vs. SF (No. 22)
- Week 16 vs. PHI (No. 25)
Alex Smith
- Week 14 at SF (No. 22)
- Week 15 vs. SEA (No. 1)
- Week 16 vs. CAR (No. 17)
Nick Mullens
- Week 14 vs. WAS (No. 23)
- Week 15 at DAL (No. 11)
- Week 16 at ARI (No. 14)
Tight Ends
Jonnu Smith or Anthony Firkser
- Week 14 at JAC (No. 6)
- Week 15 vs. DET (No. 24)
- Week 16 at GB (No. 26)
This section is more so for Anthony Firkser, but with the inconsistencies, Jonnu Smith keeps falling in the weekly rankings. The Jaguars allow the 6th most fantasy points to the position, while the Lions rank 24th and the Packers rank 26th. Again, mostly mentioning the Titans tight end group here in case Smith misses another game with the juicy Week 14 matchup. However, we note that last week, Kyle Rudolph played the Jaguars and finished with zero fantasy points.
Overall a bit riskier when we consider Firkser since we know Smith’s the more explosive player. Keep in mind that even when Smith played well, he relied on touchdowns to keep his fantasy production afloat. On the season, Smith totaled eight touchdowns (No. 1) with a 25.8% touchdown rate and a +13.5 Production Premium (No. 6), meaning he also relies on efficiency. Interestingly, check out the opportunity and productivity from Smith and Firkser on the season – both players produced similarly outside of the touchdowns.
Logan Thomas
- Week 14 at SF (No. 31)
- Week 15 vs. SEA (No. 17)
- Week 16 vs. CAR (No. 11)
Keep firing up Logan Thomas as a streaming tight end, especially after a massive Week 13 against the Steelers. Thomas caught all nine of his targets for 98 receiving yards and one touchdown and reached season-highs in catches and receiving yards. He ranks top-10 in targets, target share, air yards, and air yards share, and finally, the production continues to rise over the past few weeks. Although these matchups in the fantasy playoffs may not look too friendly, keep rolling with him down the stretch if he’s your primary option.
Logan Thomas froze ‘em🥶
— PFF (@PFF) December 7, 2020
Jordan Reed
- Week 14 vs. WAS (No. 19)
- Week 15 at DAL (No. 15)
- Week 16 at ARI (No. 27)
Although Jordan Reed isn’t playing a full snap share, he’s running more routes and earning more targets than teammate Ross Dwelley. Since Week 10, Reed caught ten of 16 targets for 112 receiving yards and one total touchdown. He averaged over five targets a game and finished 5th, 28th, and 13th. More of a deep-league streamer, and similar to others in this range, Reed ranks as a touchdown-dependent tight end.
Cole Kmet
- Week 14 vs. HOU (No. 16)
- Week 15 at MIN (N0. 18)
- Week 16 at JAC (No. 6)
When looking at the underlying metrics, it tells us that Cole Kmet is slowly but surely taking over as the lead Bears tight end. Over the past three games, Kmet’s role and opportunity keep trending upwards. Last week against the Lions, Kmet reached season highs in targets and receptions and caught five of seven targets for 37 receiving yards and one touchdown. Below, the table shows the breakdown of Cole Kmet and Jimmy Graham. Although we want more volume for Kmet, he displayed an intriguing College Prospect Profile with a 106.8 Speed Score (83rd percentile), 126.3 Burst Score (88th percentile), and 20.8% College Dominator (67th percentile). Again, as we dig deeper into the tight end pool, most of these players fall into the touchdown-dependent category.
Defenses
New York Giants
- Week 14 vs. ARI
- Week 15 vs. CLE
- Week 16 at BAL
After a quality defensive performance against the Seahawks, the Giants look like a streamable defense in the fantasy playoffs. They held the Seahawks to 327 total yards and caused two turnovers. On the season, the Giants allow the 4th fewest rushing yards per game and the 18th fewest passing yards per game. The Giants rank 9th with 32 sacks and 7th with a 25.2% pressure rate according to Pro Football Reference. With Kyler Murray struggling and running less in recent weeks, the Giants could provide a tough matchup for the Cardinals’ offense. The same goes in Week 15 against the Browns – if the Cardinals can pressure Baker Mayfield, then it could lead to turnovers and sacks.
Arizona Cardinals
- Week 14 at NYG
- Week 15 vs. PHI
- Week 16 vs. SF
Another defense similar to the Giants that fantasy managers may find on the waiver wire that projects to face a few struggling offenses. It seems unlikely that Daniel Jones will return in Week 14, meaning another start for Colt McCoy. However, stream defenses against both quarterbacks, especially the turnover-prone Daniel Jones. Then in Week 15, the Cardinals either face Jalen Hurts or Carson Wentz. Last week, we discussed how Wentz leads the league with the most quarterback sacks. Wentz also recorded an interception or fumble in every game except for last week, but he played so poorly that they benched him for Hurts.
Carolina Panthers
- Week 14 vs. DEN
- Week 15 at GB
- Week 16 at WAS
Coming off of their bye week, stream the Panthers defense in Week 14 against the Broncos. Similar to Daniel Jones, Drew Lock keeps throwing picks with eight touchdowns and 13 interceptions over the past seven games. However, you’ll need to pair them with another streamer, assuming you move on past Week 14.
Cleveland Browns
- Week 14 vs. BAL
- Week 15 at NYG
- Week 16 at NYJ
Outside of Week 14 against the Ravens, the Browns have juicy matchups against the Giants and Jets in Week 15 and 16. Since we already covered reasons why we like the Giants matchup, let’s dive into the Jets. As a team, they rank 2nd to last in passing yards and 18th in rushing yards. Joe Flacco and Sam Darnold combined for 32 sacks, which would have ranked as the 5th most behind Matthew Stafford. When facing the Jets, streaming defenses average the most fantasy points per game, so that’s the best matchup in the fantasy championship of Week 16.
Dallas Cowboys
- Week 14 at CIN
- Week 15 vs. SF
- Week 16 vs. PHI
In deep leagues, consider the Cowboys as a streaming defense, especially since they face the Bengals with a backup quarterback. Backup quarterback Brandon Allen even left with a chest injury, which could mean they have to turn to Ryan Finley. Particularly in Week 14 and 16, they face a Bengals team that allows the 5th most fantasy points and an Eagles team that allows the 3rd most fantasy points to defenses.
