Hooters wants to help start your season off the right way with a $1,000,000 contest hosted at FantasyDraft. Enter a lineup today for your chance to take a piece of the million home. Be sure to head to your local Hooters for some Monday Night Moneyball action too! Have fun watching the game, answer some questions, and you could win food, swag, and even cash prizes!
How many times have you heard someone telling you to “stream” a position? Whether it be quarterback, tight end, or defense, the idea of streaming is great, provided you get the players you want off the waiver wire. The issue with streaming week-to-week is that everyone knows who you’ll be targeting in those good matchups and you might have that player swiped from underneath you, or even worse, your opponent that week may snag a player just to ensure you don’t get them.
We started this article so you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Each Saturday morning, you’ll head over to your waiver wire and snag the players who are lined up for good matchups the following week. They may have a brutal matchup for that current week. Great, even better. That just means they’re more likely to be available for you. By snagging them a week prior, you eliminate the need to spend a lot of FAAB dollars on the top tier defense that everyone is chasing. Here’s the players who have solid Week 6 matchups on tap and are less than 40 percent owned.
Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins (MIN) vs PHI
He’s one of my favorite streamers for this week, though you can grab him for next week, too. The Eagles are decimated at cornerback and may be without multiple starting cornerbacks (who weren’t very good to begin with). The issue with Cousins in good matchups to this point has been their opponents inability to put up points, therefore we’ve seen a lot of rushing attempts, though the Eagles don’t have trouble putting points on the board. Through four games, the Eagles have allowed more fantasy points to quarterbacks than everyone except the Dolphins, Cardinals, and Redskins.
Gardner Minshew (JAX) vs NO
He’s carried the momentum from Week 1 into his following performances and has now posted at least 16.1 fantasy points in each of his four games. The Saints defense is elite at stopping the run when healthy, and after getting the final piece (Sheldon Rankins) back last week, teams are not going to be able to move the ball on the ground. Not only have the Saints allowed 8.37 yards per attempt, but they’ve also allowed four rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks.
Feeling lucky or desperate: Josh Rosen (MIA) vs WAS
Running Backs
Rex Burkhead (NE) vs NYG
Many have moved on from Burkhead after a one-touch game in Week 4 but he was limited throughout the week in practice, which led to him being left out of the gameplan. With this game being another week-and-a-half away, Burkhead’s foot injury should be good. The Giants have faced an average of 27.3 running back touches per game and have allowed 9.39 yards per target to running backs. The lack of run-game with no James Develin has been apparent, which means the short passing game should be in full-effect.
J.D. McKissic (DET) at GB
It appears we have a new No. 2 to Kerryon Johnson in Detroit, as McKissic totaled 27 snaps to Johnson’s 53 snaps against the Chiefs. He touched the ball five times and racked up 41 yards, so his efficiency was good, too. Meanwhile Ty Johnson played just 11 snaps. In a game against the Packers, the Lions will want to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible, as the Packers have allowed a robust 5.30 yards per carry on the year, leading to them allowing the third most fantasy points to the running back position.
Gus Edwards (BAL) vs CIN
Most don’t realize that Edwards is getting plenty of work alongside Mark Ingram, likely because Ingram has scored all the touchdowns. Through four games, Edwards has totaled 33 carries and three receptions, amounting to 9.0 touches per game while Ingram averages 15.5 per game. Against the Bengals, who face an average of 33.0 running back touches per game, we could see enough for both Ingram and Edwards to be fantasy viable. It’s not just volume against the Bengals, either, as they’ve allowed 4.78 yards per carry and eight touchdowns to the position.
If he was cut and is available in your league, he’d be the top add: Adrian Peterson (WAS) at MIA
Wide Receivers
Paul Richardson/Trey Quinn (WAS) at MIA
Any time you can attack the Dolphins with streamers, you kind of have to do it. Quinn is probably the safer bet here, as the Dolphins have been continually beat out of the slot. Through four games, the Dolphins cornerbacks and safeties have allowed 23-of-29 passing for 403 yards and five touchdowns. Those look like videogame numbers from when I played Madden as a kid. The 2.36 PPR points per target the Dolphins allow to receivers ranks as the second most in the league.
Preston Williams/DeVante Parker (MIA) vs WAS
They’ll be coming off their bye week with the best matchup anyone can ask for on their schedule. They’ve yet to throw the ball a ton and it’s because their opponent has been able to control the ball, limiting their opportunities. The Redskins aren’t a team that has enough talent to do that. They’ve also allowed a massive 77.3 percent completion-rate and a touchdown every 9.4 targets in coverage. Williams has been the favorite of Rosen, so he’d be the preferred option here, though Parker works, too.
Damiere Byrd/Trent Sherfield (ARI) vs ATL
After losing Christian Kirk to an ankle injury (looks like it will be a few weeks), the Cardinals are going to be starting one of Byrd or Sherfield in his place. Yes, Kirk plays most of his snaps in the slot while these guys don’t, but it’s all about the 22 percent target share he’s leaving behind. Even with Kirk in the lineup, Byrd totaled 18 targets in three games. He’s dealing with a hamstring injury but may be okay by the time this matchup comes around. If not, Sherfield should be available to snag as a backup plan. Without Keanu Neal, the Falcons defense looks like the same one we saw last year, and we know there’ll be plenty of pass attempts in this game.
How is he not over 40 percent owned (please fix this): Geronimo Allison (GB)
Worth a stash: Dante Pettis (SF)
Tight Ends
Chris Herndon (NYJ) vs DAL
He’ll be back from his suspension in Week 6, available right around the time we should get Sam Darnold back. While I’m not the biggest Herndon supporter this year, he’s likely the best available option, as it’s not a great streaming week for tight ends. The Cowboys did allow Evan Engram a massive game in Week 1 when he tallied 11/116/1, and he played for a team with limited offensive firepower, similar to the Jets. If there’s one thing we know about Darnold and Herndon, it’s that they have chemistry, which should help him break back into game action.
Jordan Akins (HOU) at KC
It’s always good to chase games where we’re expecting a lot of fantasy points to be scored, and the Texans/Chiefs game should provide plenty of fireworks. It’s part of the reason the Chiefs allowed the fifth most points to the tight end position last year and the fourth most points this year. Over the span of those 20 games, they’ve allowed 15 tight ends to finish as top-15 options against them. Those are pretty good odds, especially when we factor in that Akins has seen nine targets over the last two weeks.
Desperation option, though he’s currently in concussion protocol: Vernon Davis (WAS) at MIA
D/ST
Kansas City Chiefs vs HOU
They’re going to allow some points, but you’ll have to get over that. You’d be starting them for the fact that three of the four defenses to play the Texans have racked up at least four sacks, including six sacks in two of them. Did you know that in each of the last three full seasons, the Chiefs defense has allowed more than seven points per game less while at home? The Chiefs defense has also racked up 10 sacks over their last three games.
Carolina Panthers at TB
The real question is why the Panthers are actually under 30 percent owned? They are tied with the Patriots as the league leaders with 18 sacks through four games. We’ve all gone along the Jameis Winston rollercoaster, right? He’s been sacked at least twice in every game and if you pressure him, you can force turnovers, as the Bucs offense has turned the ball over six times through four games. It’s also their second meeting of the season, which means they’re a bit more understanding of what Bruce Arians’ offense is trying to do.
Subscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS
Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
