Colin Kaepernick’s legs provide owners with a high floor
With more and more fantasy owners opting to wait on the quarterback and tight end positions in drafts, streaming each position has become a viable option. This is made easier by the fact that there are usually solid options on the waiver wire. Each week this column will scour the waiver wire and look for quarterbacks and tight ends who are owned in fewer than 50% of leagues and could be worth starting for your fantasy team.
All ownership percentages come from Yahoo fantasy leagues and all references to fantasy points allowed per game come from our fantasy points allowed (PA) reports here on Fantasy Pros. All references to DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average) come from rankings on www.footballoutsiders.com. A detailed explanation of DVOA can be found here.
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Quarterback
Colin Kaepernick (SF): 12% owned vs. New England Patriots
Kaepernick continues rolling along, posting two straight 20-plus point fantasy performances, buoyed by his excellent rushing production. Kaepernick has now picked up 228 rushing yards and a touchdown over his four starts this season. That elite rushing production covers up any shortcomings he has in the passing game and gives him a high weekly floor. The matchup against the Patriots isn’t ideal, but Kaepernick held his own last week against a tough Cardinals pass defense, so he should be fine to stream this weekend.
Alex Smith (KC): 25% owned vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Smith has a great matchup on tap as he will take on a leaky Tampa Bay pass defense in Week 11. The Buccaneers have struggled to contain opposing quarterbacks this season, Jay Cutler‘s Week 10 dud aside. Before Week 10’s action, Tampa Bay was allowing 20.4 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, fifth-highest in the league. While Smith doesn’t have a lot of upside, he has a high weekly floor and should do enough through the air and on the ground to make him worth streaming if the need arises.
Tight End
Jack Doyle (IND): 36% owned vs. Tennessee Titans
Doyle, a relative unknown before the season began, has emerged as one of Andrew Luck‘s favorite targets this year. The big tight end has seen four or more targets in six of nine games this season while scoring four touchdowns and remaining prominently involved in Week 9, even with Dwayne Allen back in the fold. Look for Doyle to post a big game in Week 11 against a Titans defense that has struggled against enemy tight ends, allowing them to rack up the seventh-most fantasy points per game this year.
Dennis Pitta (BAL): 45% owned @ Dallas Cowboys
Pitta has been solid, if unspectacular, in his return to action this season. While he is still looking for his first touchdown, he has been one of Joe Flacco‘s favorite targets in the middle of the field. He has seen five or more targets in seven of nine games this season while hitting double-digit looks from Flacco in three games. While his lack of scoring upside makes him more attractive in PPR leagues, Pitta shapes up as an excellent streamer this weekend. The Cowboys have allowed the 11th-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.
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Matt Terelle is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive and follow him @supermt.
