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 FAB dollars on the top tier defense that everyone is chasing. Here are the players who have solid Week 14 matchups on tap and are less than 40 percent rostered.

Quarterbacks

Kirk Cousins (MIN) at TB in Week 14
We always have to worry about the lack of pass attempts out of Cousins, but that shouldn’t be the case for Cousins in Week 14 when he plays the Bucs. Their opponents have thrown the ball on 64.4 percent of their plays, which ranks as the second-most in the NFL. It’s also led to 37.8 pass attempts, which is more than enough for the quarterback who ranks second in the NFL in yards per attempt (8.65) and third in touchdown percentage (7.2 percent). Each of the last three quarterbacks who’ve played against the Bucs have posted 19-plus fantasy points.

Philip Rivers (IND) at LV in Week 14
If you haven’t paid attention as of late, Rivers has been pretty dang good. He’s scored at least 16.3 fantasy points in five of his last six games, with the lone exception coming in an obvious bad game against the Ravens. While the Raiders have been a defense you can run the ball against, they’re also one who fails to generate any sort of pressure. They’ve sacked the opposing quarterback on just 2.77 percent of dropbacks, so it should be fun watching them try to get through the Colts top-tier offensive line. They’ve allowed 6-of-11 quarterbacks finish as top-15 options against them, including five who were top-10. Rivers isn’t as safe as Cousins, but he’s not a bad backup plan.

Desperation options: Mitch Trubisky (CHI) vs HOU, Andy Dalton (DAL) at CIN

Running Backs

*If Devontae Booker is available in your league, grab him right now. Josh Jacobs is out for this week’s game and could be shut down for a bit.* 

Frank Gore (NYJ) at SEA in Week 14
Nobody wants Gore, I get it. Actually, I don’t. In a year full of surprises that has us starting guys like Gus Edwards, Duke Johnson, and DeeJay Dallas, you should understand the importance of running back depth. Gore’s ranked in my top-30 running backs this week, so he might be an option for you this week, too. I won’t pretend the matchup against the Seahawks is a great one, but any time you have a running back who’s locked into 15-plus touches, he shouldn’t be on waivers. The Seahawks opponents have averaged 71.5 plays per game, which could allow for Gore to safely get up to 15 touches in what might be one of his final three games in the league.

Carlos Hyde (SEA) vs NYJ in Week 14
This one is very odd to me, as Hyde just led the Seahawks in touches last week. While I don’t expect that to be the case again, he clearly has a role in this offense while they try to keep Chris Carson fresh. Meanwhile, the Jets have faced a robust 29.4 running back touches per game. This game should be extremely lopsided, which should allow Hyde to get 12-plus touches, even if he’s the lesser part of a 60/40 timeshare. That’s precisely what we look for with running back streamers.

Desperation option: Boston Scott (PHI) vs NO

Wide Receivers

Tim Patrick (DEN) at CAR in Week 14
I don’t think many realize just how good Patrick has been this year. Here are his numbers compared to Chargers’ wide receiver Mike Williams:

I can promise you that Williams isn’t available in your league. It’s not just boring production, either, as Patrick has three 100-yard games on the season, which is something only 19 wide receivers can say. The Panthers have started to leak production a bit in their secondary, allowing six top-30 wide receiver performances over their last three games. Patrick should deliver a solid floor for streamers, and we know he has a ceiling.

Denzel Mims (NYJ)/Breshad Perriman (NYJ) at SEA in Week 14
Attacking the Seahawks secondary with wide receivers makes way too much sense this year, as they’ve faced a ridiculous 28.4 targets per game to them. That’s led to 20.2 receptions, 240.3 yards, and 1.2 touchdowns per game to wide receivers alone. Mims has totaled at least eight targets and 62-plus yards in each of his last three games, while Perriman has posted 27.1, 11.9, 10.2 PPR points in the three games he saw more than five targets, which he should get here.

Allen Lazard (GB) at DET in Week 14
It’s tough to trust Packers wide receivers not named Davante Adams, but against the Lions, Lazard should be a solid streamer. He’s seen 10 targets in his two games since returning from his core surgery, which isn’t bad. The Lions have struggled to defend the slot all year, as the cornerbacks have combined to allow 59-of-78 passing for 779 yards and six touchdowns. The slot is where Lazard plays 56 percent of his snaps.

T.Y. Hilton (IND) at LV in Week 14
It hasn’t always been thrilling to play Hilton this year. In fact, it’s been flat-out depressing at times, but part of that is due the expectations most had as someone who was drafted as a top-30 wide receiver. But if you take a step back and view him as the waiver wire pickup that he is, it’s not so bad. He’s seen at least five targets in 8-of-10 games and has totaled at least 40 yards in half of his games. He’s not sexy, that much is for sure, but with Rivers playing the way he is, and with the matchup against the Raiders who’ve allowed the 13th-most PPR points per game to wide receivers, he’s not a bad floor option.

Decent alternative options: Darnell Mooney (CHI) vs HOU, Keke Coutee (HOU) at CHI

Tight Ends

Jordan Reed (SF) vs WAS in Week 14
In the five games that Reed has played without George Kittle, he’s received at least six targets in 4-of-5 games. That’s magical for tight ends in 2020. Now you put him against Washington, his former team, who have allowed five different tight ends to record 10.8 or more PPR points against them even though just four tight ends have seen more than four targets. The PPR point totals of those who did? 24.1, 15.8, 10.8, and 7.4. This game should give you a rock-solid floor.

Dalton Schultz (DAL) at CIN in Week 14
We talked about it above with Reed but finding a tight end who has a six-target outlook is great for streaming. Schultz has averaged 6.2 targets per game since taking over as the starter in this Cowboys offense, seeing at least five targets in 8-of-10 games. Now putting him in a position against the team who’s allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends, he’s an ideal streaming candidate. The Bengals have already allowed eight tight ends to post double-digit PPR points and finish as top-16 options against them.

Another solid option: Jordan Akins (HOU) at CHI

DSTs

If they’re available, they’d be my top pickup: Seattle Seahawks vs NYJ in Week 14

Washington Football Team at SF in Week 14
It seems that no one is buying into the fact that Washington has the No. 9 defense on the year, as they’re still under 40 percent rostered. The 49ers have allowed their quarterback to be sacked eight times over the last four games and are about to go against the team with the No. 2 sack rate in football. Washington has sacked the opposing quarterback on 9.5 percent of his dropbacks, which could lead to turnovers. Speaking of turnovers, the 49ers’ opponents have generated 11 turnovers in the last four games while the 49ers offense hasn’t generated more than 17 points since Week 8.

San Francisco 49ers vs WAS in Week 14
I was a little surprised to see the 49ers with just 38 percent ownership, but we’ll take it. They clearly aren’t the defense they were last year, though they’ve started to turn a corner as of late and are about to play against a Washington team who’s allowed their quarterback to be sacked 3.2 times per game, and at least twice in every game. They’ve also turned the ball over eight times in their last four games. If the 49ers can slow down the running game for them (they have all year), it’ll force Alex Smith to drop back more often, which leads to more upside with your D/ST.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.