Field of Streams: Week Five

Austan Kas

streams

In this weekly series, we narrow the focus to just the current week and give you some streaming options for the upcoming games. The goal is to identify a player at each offensive position, as well as a team defense, who is owned in less than 30 percent of leagues and may be in line for a productive outing.

You can read more about this series here. We use MFL rates for the ownership percentages.

Let’s take a look at how things went for our top picks in Week 4, using standard PPR scoring. The weekly average through three weeks is in parenthesis.

QB — Kirk Cousins, 21.7 points (18.5)
WR — Ted Ginn Jr., 15.8 points (10.7)
RB — Theo Riddick, 8.6 points (10.4)
TE — Ben Watson, 6 points (10.8)
K — Sebastian Janikowski, 9 points (11.5)
D — San Diego Chargers, 6 points (5.5)

Cousins had a solid outing for the Washington Redskins and finished as the week’s fifth-best quarterback, throwing for 290 yards and a score. Ginn kept up his surprisingly productive start with a two-touchdown game. Watson hauled in all three of his targets for 30 yards. Janikowski went 2-for-2 on field goals. Defense continues to be a weak spot for me as the Chargers had four sacks and a fumble recovery but gave up 27 points to the Cleveland Browns. Theo Riddick made five catches on Monday.

Here are the streaming picks for week five!

Quarterback

Michael Vick, QB PIT
(owned in 25 percent of leagues)

Vick had a pretty rough game in his Pittsburgh debut, completing 19-of-24 passes for just 124 yards. He gets a much easier matchup this week as the Steelers take on San Diego. The Chargers just allowed Josh McCown to throw for 356 yards and two touchdowns. After being painfully conservative against the Ravens, I think the Steelers will be a little more aggressive with Vick in this one. As usual, he offers a nice floor with his legs (33 rushing yards in week four). Ryan Mallett against the Colts is a decent play as is Kirk Cousins at Atlanta. The Redskins may get trounced, which could lead to some serious garbage time for Washington.

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Honorable mention: Mallett (vs. IND), Cousins (at ATL).

Wide receiver

Willie Snead, WR NO
(10.8 percent)

Snead has quietly been getting a great opportunity to produce in New Orleans. He has been targeted 19 times over the past three games, making 15 catches for 177 yards and one score. In week four, Snead caught all six of his targets for 89 yards and a touchdowns. The Saints play the Eagles this week and Philadelphia is giving up the eighth most points to opposing receivers. Cecil Shorts is slightly over the ownership threshold of 30 percent, but he has a superb situation this week if he’s able to play through a hamstring injury. With Vontae Davis likely shadowing DeAndre Hopkins and Nate Washington injuring his hamstring in week four, Shorts could be in for a big day.

Honorable mention: Shorts (vs. IND), Kamar Aiken (vs. CLE)

Running back

Chris Thompson, RB WAS
(6.1 percent)

While Matt Jones and Alfred Morris are battling it out for lead back duties, Thompson has carved out a nice role for himself in the Washington offense as the team’s third-down back. He has 18 touches over the last two games, with ten of those being receptions. The Redskins figure to be doing a lot of playing from behind in their week five road game against the Falcons. If that happens, Thompson will have a chance to produce. Dexter McCluster has been filling the same role for the Tennessee Titans, who face the Buffalo Bills this week. Tennessee will likely have a tough time on the ground, meaning McCluster could see more snaps than Antonio Andrews and Bishop Sankey.

Honorable mention: McCluster (vs. BUF) and Rawls (vs. DET)

Tight end

Ben Watson, TE NO
(12.8 percent)

Watson, the top pass catching tight end for the Saints, had a respectable showing in week four and he gets Philadelphia this week. Cleveland’s Gary Barnidge exploded for 105 yards and a touchdown in week three and followed it up with 75 yards and another score in week four. He has a tough matchup with Baltimore this week as the Ravens has allowed the fewest points to tight ends. Denver’s Virgil Green doesn’t see many targets (five through four weeks), but Oakland can’t stop giving up points to tight ends. The Raiders have allowed six touchdowns to tight ends in four games.

Honorable mention: Green (vs. DEN), Barnidge (at BAL)

Kicker

Josh Lambo, K SD
(29 percent)

Lambo and the Chargers should be able to move the ball well this week against a weak Pittsburgh defense. A rookie, Lambo is 7-of-8 on field goals and 9-for-10 on extra points. He’s coming off his best game of the year, scoring 14 points in week four, including a pair of 40-yard kicks. Cairo Santos hit 7-of-7 field goals in Week 4 and has a nice matchup against the Bears.

Honorable mention: Nick Novak (vs IND), Santos (vs. CHI).

Team Defense

New York Giants
(24.6 percent)

The Giants have a superb matchup in week five as the San Francisco 49ers come to town. Playing at home? Check. Facing a bad quarterback? Check. That’s what I’m looking for in a defense. Colin Kaepernick and the dumpster fire which is the 49ers’ offense have five turnovers and just ten points over the last two weeks. Tampa Bay and Atlanta have good matchups as well. The Falcons just racked up 21 fantasy points against Houston.

Honorable mention: Buccaneers (vs. JAX), Falcons (vs WAS).

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