Field of Streams: Week One

 

In our beloved dynasty format, the view of rosters is a long-term one. With that said, no matter what position you’re in (contending for a title, full rebuild mode or somewhere in between), the goal each week is to win your matchup.

It’s this balance (winning now with an eye on winning later as well) which makes dynasty so fun and intriguing, at least in my messed up mind.

In this weekly series, we’re going to narrow our focus to just the current week and give you some streaming options for that week’s games. The goal is to identify a player at each offensive position, as well as a team defense, who is available in a large amount of leagues and may be in line for a productive outing.

Streaming is simply utilizing players off the waiver wire each week, picking up players based on various factors, and then typically dropping them in favor of someone else the following week. It has become a trendy practice lately.

It’s mostly done with the positions where your league only requires you to start one player — quarterback, tight end, kicker and defense. It’s common for teams to only roster one, maybe two, players at those positions, which means the waiver wire contains more productive options for those spots.

Streaming a position like quarterback or tight end allows you to invest more of your resources in running backs and receivers – the two most important positions. It can also help you navigate bye weeks or (I hate to even say it) an injury-riddled season.

To be a “streamable” option, a player must be owned in less than 40% of MFL leagues. Using MFL ownership rates (which include all MFL leagues, not just dynasty formats) isn’t ideal, but it’s the best option out there when looking to get a feel for dynasty ownership numbers. If you know of a better one, please let me know in the comments.

There are many different formats within the dynasty realm and roster sizes can vary greatly from league-to-league. For this series, we’ll assume 30-man rosters with a starting lineup consisting of one quarterback, two running backs, three receivers, one tight end, one flex spot, one kicker and one defense.

I’m going to aim low with my streaming picks in an effort to select players who will be readily available on your league’s waiver wire. If your league’s rosters are a fairly large, some of these players may be owned. If you have 20-man rosters, you may be able to target a slightly better player. I’ll include an honorable mention category with each position, and in it I’ll list a player who is slightly over the 40% ownership rate to try to cover all bases.

Let’s get started with some streamable options for week one:

Quarterback
Tyrod Taylor, QB BUF (owned in 22 percent of leagues)

With a home game against the Indianapolis Colts, Taylor is the top streaming option among signal callers. Almost all of the other waiver wire quarterbacks — Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. CLE), Brian Hoyer (vs. KC), Kirk Cousins (vs. MIA) and Josh McCown (at NYJ) — have tough matchups. The Colts were middle of the road against quarterbacks last season (14th-fewest points allowed). In limited action in his career, Taylor is 14-of-19 for 199 yards. What makes him attractive is his ability to scramble, which gives him a safe floor and the upside of scoring a rushing touchdown. If LeSean McCoy (hamstring) suits up, he and Sammy Watkins give Taylor a pair of big-play weapons to target.

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Honorable mention: Fitzpatrick (vs. CLE), Carson Palmer (vs NO)

Wide Receiver
Brandon Coleman, WR NO (38 percent)

I’m not going to pretend to know what Brandon Coleman’s role will be for the Saints, but he’s currently penciled in as a starter in three-wide sets. A starting wideout in a Drew Brees and Sean Payton offense is a great place to be and Coleman has been an off-season darling. With a game at Arizona, the Saints have a tough matchup in the opener. The Cards play a lot man-to-man defense and top corner Patrick Peterson typically trails one receiver all over the field. My guess (purely that, a guess) is he will likely take Brandin Cooks. If Cooks spends a lot of time in the slot, Peterson could stay outside on Coleman or Marques Colston, although Peterson has covered slot receivers before. Obviously, it’d be nice if Coleman avoided Peterson. Still, with no Jimmy Graham and possibly no Spiller, Brees has to throw to somebody.

Honorable mention: Kamar Aiken (at BAL), Harry Douglas (at TB)

Running Back
Jonathan Grimes, RB HOU (5.61 percent)

Running back is a tough position to stream because most players with a shot at a decent amount of touches are owned. Choosing a player who scores six or seven points will be deemed a success. Honestly, it’s going to be a shot-in-the-dark-type stab at a touchdown most weeks or a gamble on a player in line for 10 or so touches. Jonathan Grimes fits the latter description and with Arian Foster on the shelf, there’s a void in the Houston backfield. I’m hoping for ten touches from Grimes, who has served as the No. 2 tailback this preseason. He’s nothing special, but he is a capable runner and receiver. If C.J. Spiller ends up missing the Saints’ opener against Arizona, Khiry Robinson would be a nice target. The same goes for Buffalo’s Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown if LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams are less than 100 percent against the Colts.

Honorable mentions: Dixon (vs. IND), Chris Polk (vs. KC)

Tight End
Crockett Gillmore, TE BAL (8 percent)

Baltimore drafted Maxx Williams, but Crockett Gillmore is going to start, at least early on this season. Breshad Perriman is out, and Joe Flacco’s pass-game options for the opener at Denver are pretty bleak. With Aqib Talib and Chris Harris at corner, teams often opt to attack Denver down the middle of the field. The Broncos allowed the seventh-most points to tight ends last year. Gillmore, a second-year player, sprinkled in ten grabs for 121 yards and a score in very limited action last season and he’ll have a golden opportunity to produce on week one. The Packers’ Richard Rodgers, owned in just over 50 percent of leagues, is also a fantastic streaming play.

Honorable mention: Rodgers (at CHI), Jared Cook (vs. SEA)

Kicker
Greg Zuerlein, K STL (22 percent)

One-week scoring for any position can be extremely random, but especially so for kickers. In the opening week, Greg Zuerlein and the Rams take on Seattle, the league’s top defense. Playing a great defense can help and hurt a kicker. It hurts by limiting their chances for close, easy field goals, in addition to extra points. It helps by increasing the odds the kicker’s offense won’t score touchdowns, meaning they’ll turn to the kicker for points and with the defense being good, it often results in longer field goal tries. Longer kicks usually mean more points.

Honorable mention: Nick Folk (vs. CLE)

Team Defense
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (23 percent)

The key to fantasy defenses scoring well are turnovers. It’s how the league’s best defense, Seattle, can finish seventh among fantasy defenses (in standard scoring). The Buccaneers open the season with a home tilt against Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans. Streaming defenses against rookie quarterbacks is not groundbreaking, and the reasoning is fairly simple. Rookie quarterbacks often struggle and turn the ball over. Mariota has had a solid preseason, but he did turn it over on his first two possessions in the Titans’ preseason opener. Mariota was notoriously stingy with turnovers in college, but the NFL is a different ballgame. I do think the Titans have some zone-read plays up their sleeve, which they didn’t show much of this preseason, and Mariota will have some success against a fairly weak Bucs’ pass defense. Tampa Bay does have Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David on the interior to stymie the Titans’ run game, so Mariota may have to win this with him arm, which is exactly the scenario we want.

Honorable mention: Jacksonville, (vs. CAR), Dallas (vs. NYG)

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