Field of Streams: Week Seven

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)  owned in less than 30 percent of leagues who 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 6, using standard PPR scoring. The weekly average through six weeks is in parenthesis.

QB — Brian Hoyer, 24.22 points (18.35)
WR — Jamison Crowder, 8.0 points (11.81)
RB — Chris Thompson, 9.8 points (10.7)
TE — Jacob Tamme, 6.2 points (10.31)
K — Mike Nugent, 11.0 points (11.33)
D — San Francisco 49ers, 5 points (4.83)

Hoyer continued looking not terrible, throwing for 293 yards and three scores. Crowder received nine targets, but he made just four catches for 40 yards. Thompson led Washington with ten targets, finishing with six catches and 38 total yards. Tamme had four receptions for 32 yards. Nugent hit a pair of kicks, including a 40-yarder. The 49ers picked off Joe Flacco twice on their way to five points.

Hoyer’s good game continued my hot run with quarterback streamers. Through seven weeks, I’ve amassed 110.1 points with my weekly picks, which ranks seventh among quarterbacks. Kicker has been my other hot spot, where the 68 total points rank second among all kickers.

Here are the streaming picks for Week seven.

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Quarterback

Kirk Cousins, QB WAS
(owned in 29.1 percent of leagues)

It’s getting harder by the week to find decent quarterback streaming options as some of our old reliables such as Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown have now all eclipsed the 30-percent ownership threshold. Cousins, at the time of this writing, is just below the 30-percent mark. Cousins was fairly awful against the New York Jets in Week six, throwing for just 196 yards of 43 attempts. He gets a much easier matchup this week, though, as the Redskins host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. DeSean Jackson may return, which would be an added boost, but even sans Jackson, Cousins is a good play. E.J. Manuel against Jacksonville is another solid matchup, assuming Tyrod Taylor is out again. Hoyer hits the road to take on the Miami Dolphins.

Honorable mention: Hoyer (at MIA), Manuel (at JAX).

Wide receiver

Stefon Diggs, WR MIN
(19.01 percent)

Over his last two games, Diggs is averaging 6.5 catches and 108 yards on 9.5 targets. That’ll work. He gets a mouth-watering matchup against the Detroit Lions this week. The Lions have allowed six receivers to put up at least 14 points against them. Diggs should be owned in most dynasty formats, so this may be a case where the MLF ownership numbers don’t work well. Still, he’s probably been a bench stash this year and he’s played his way into a startable role. Crowder is a decent play again this week, and he’s been targeted 29 times over the past three games. It’s always a dice roll with any Seattle receiver, but Jermaine Kearse gets the San Francisco 49ers, who have allowed the third-most points to wideouts. Dwayne Harris has been a solid producer with Victor Cruz out, and the Giants play the porous Dallas Cowboys’ secondary this week.

Honorable mention: Crowder (vs. TB), Kearse (at SF), Harris (vs. DAL).

Running back

Chris Thompson, RB WAS
(28.24 percent)

For the sake of variety, I don’t like picking Thompson for a third straight week, but he’s still the best option available. The waiver wire is pretty thin at the running back position this time of the year. With Jordan Reed and Jackson out, Thompson has been the most consistent week-to-week play among Redskins. Over the past four games, he has averaged 9.5 touches and 7.75 targets per game. There is no reason he won’t maintain the pace this week. Dexter McCluster has a solid matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. McCluster is averaging 9.25 touches per game over the last four contests. Game script could slant in his favor this week.

Honorable mention: McCluster (vs. ATL).

Tight End

Ben Watson, TE NO
(13.7 percent)

I sort of hit on Watson last week, listing him as an honorable mention streamer, but he has a great matchup against an Indianapolis Colts defense which ranks 28th against the pass. Don’t expect another 10-catch, 127-yard performance, but Watson’s role in the offense has grown as the year has progressed. Jacob Tamme, averaging 7.5 targets over the past two weeks, gets a solid matchup at Tennessee. Crockett Gillmore, a staple in this spot earlier in the season, has seen his ownership plummet back near the 30-percent barrier. Baltimore plays at Arizona in a game where the Ravens could surely have to attempt a lot of passes.

Honorable mention: Tamme (at TEN), Gillmore (at ARI).

Kicker

Greg Zuerlein, K STL
(26.77 percent)

Zuerlein and the St. Louis Rams host the Cleveland Browns this week. Zuerlein kicks for a decent offense which should be able to move the ball well against the Browns, but the offense isn’t so good that the Rams are likely to score a bunch of touchdowns, meaning there’s a good chance Zuerlein gets to try a couple field goals. The game being indoors is another plus. The only thing which gives me pause is Zuerlein missed three kicks in his last outing. He was a perfect 5-for-5 before the bad game. Graham Gano and the Panthers face the weak Philadelphia Eagles’ defense while Blair Walsh and the Minnesota Vikings head indoors to Detroit.

Honorable mention: Gano (vs. Eagles), Walsh (at DET).

Team Defense

New York Giants
(25.4 percent)

The Giants check off the boxes this week. They play at home against a bad offense piloted by a bad quarterback as they host Matt Cassel and the Dallas Cowboys. Even if Dez Bryant returns, which is unlikely but a possibility, the Giants should feast on Cassel. No, the Giants don’t have a good defense, but this situation is ideal. I thought about going all-in on Washington in their home game against Tampa Bay as their defense is presented with a nice matchup. I rarely go with a road defense as a streamer, but the Pittsburgh Steelers get a Kansas City Chiefs team without Jamaal Charles and possibly Jeremy Maclin.

Honorable mention: Redskins (vs. TB), Steelers (at KC).

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