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
Ryan Tannehill (MIA): 24% owned vs. San Francisco 49ers
Tannehill surely had fantasy owners who streamed him last week nervous until he threw two late touchdowns to lead the Dolphins to a comeback win over the Rams. He draws a much more favorable matchup this week as he will take on a weak 49ers defense at home. San Francisco is allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. While San Francisco’s leaky run defense is a concern for Tannehill’s prospects, the sheer number of plays that the uptempo 49ers force their opponents to run will keep his floor intact.
Colin Kaepernick (SF): 18% owned @ Miami Dolphins
The thought of playing Kaepernick may still make you a little uneasy, but he is the 11th-highest scoring quarterback over the past month (six-point passing TD scoring) and continues to augment his weekly stats with his rushing skills. It is time to start to trust the dual-threat signal caller. As mentioned above, Chip Kelly’s fast-paced offense is fantasy gold for offenses, especially quarterbacks. The Dolphins have been average against quarterbacks this season, ranking 16th in fantasy points allowed, but Kaepernick should be just fine against them.
Tight End
Dennis Pitta (BAL): 38% owned vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Pitta is still looking for his first touchdown of the season, but he’s an excellent PPR option if you are in need of a tight end this weekend. Pitta has seen 73 targets from Joe Flacco, ranking him second on the team behind only Mike Wallace. The Bengals have been quite generous to opposing tight ends this season, allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to the position.
Jared Cook (GB): 12% owned vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Many fantasy players had big expectations for Cook when the normally free agent averse Packers signed him in the offseason. An ankle injury has limited Cook to just four games played this season, but he appeared fully healthy while hanging six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown on the Redskins on Sunday night. Cook could have had a bigger game too but he didn’t turn his head around in time for what would have been a second touchdown for him. The Eagles present a difficult matchup for tight ends, but Cook has the chance at another big game if he remains a favorite target of Aaron Rodgers.
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Matt Terelle is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive and follow him @supermt.