Field of Streams: Week 17

In this 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 16, using standard PPR scoring. The weekly average through 14 weeks is in parenthesis.

QB — Zach Mettenberger, 13.36 points (15.73)

WR — Dontrelle Inman, 22.2 points (13.48)

RB — Kendall Gaskins, 1.2 points (9.8)

TE — Will Tye, 5.8 points (10.33)

K — Matt Prater, 14.0 points (9.06)

D — Tennessee Titans, 2.0 points (7.25)

It was a mixed bag in Week 16. I had my best week of the season for a receiver, but I also had my worst week at the running back position. Inman hauled in eight passes for 82 yards and a score, finishing the week as the No. 8 receiver. Gaskins was a flop, totaling just two touches for San Francisco. Mettenberger struggled for a majority of the day, throwing for 234 yards, one score and one interception. Tye made three grabs for 28 yards as the Giants’ offense circled the drain against Minnesota. Prater was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals and was the week’s third-best kicker. The Titans turned in a dreadful performance against Brandon Weeden and the Texans

Here are the picks for Week 17.

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Quarterback

A.J. McCarron, QB CIN

(owned in 13.29 percent of leagues)

Assuming Andy Dalton is out, McCarron is my play for this week. On the road against the league’s top defense, McCarron was serviceable in Monday night’s game, although he struggled in the second half after a hot start. Still, his solid showing in a brutal matchup makes me feel good about his chances for a good game this week against the Ravens. Despite playing great against Pittsburgh in Week 16 Baltimore is giving up the 12th-most points to quarterbacks this year. McCarron did suffer a wrist injury on the final play Monday, but at this time, it’s unknown how serious the injury is. Brian Hoyer is just over our 30-percent ownership threshold, but if he’s available, he has a superb home matchup with Jacksonville, who is allowing the fourth-most points to signal callers. It sounds like Hoyer is going to play after missing the last two games with a concussion.

Honorable mention: Hoyer (vs. JAX).

Wide receiver

Jermaine Kearse, WR SEA

(28.07 percent)

While Doug Baldwin has gone nuts recently, Kearse has quietly upped his production as well. He has scored at least 12 points in each of the last three weeks. I think Week 17’s matchup with the Cardinals lines up perfectly for Kearse. Patrick Peterson will likely shadow Baldwin, so Kearse should see an uptick in targets. Also, it’s unlikely Seattle has much success on the ground. It’ll be the Russell Wilson show again. I mentioned Albert Wilson as a decent play last week, and I’m going there again this week. Facing an Oakland defense allowing the 25th-most points to wideouts, Wilson has a good matchup. Over the past three games he has caught 11-of-14 targets for 148 yards. He has a safe floor, just gambling on a touchdown.

Honorable mention: Wilson (vs. OAK).

Running back

Steven Jackson, RB NE

(6.29 percent)

This is a gamble in a number of ways, but I think it could pay off. For starters, with New England’s top seed wrapped up, the Patriots may choose to save Jackson for the playoffs. However, after giving him seven carries against the Jets in Week 16, I think New England will feature Jackson versus Miami this week so they can see what they have in him. The Dolphins are 30th against the run. It’s the Patriots, though, so I could whiff here. With Jacksonville playing at Houston, Jonas Gray has a worse matchup, but I think some of the same elements will be at play. The Jaguars have no reason to play T.J. Yeldon, and they gave Gray work in Week 16 (five carries for 31 yards), saying they wanted to see what he could do. I think they’ll do the same thing in Week 17.

Honorable mention: Gray (at HOU).

Tight end

Tyler Kroft, TE CIN

(4.06 percent)

In the absence of Tyler Eifert, Kroft has caught all seven of his targets the past two games for 77 yards and a score. He gets a decent matchup with Baltimore this week, and Cincinnati has no reason at all to rush Eifert back before the playoffs. If Eifert does play, I’d look to Vance McDonald. With Blaine Gabbert under center, McDonald has turned in some nice production. Despite dealing with an injury, he’s scored three times over the past five weeks and gone over the 60-yard mark three times in that span. San Francisco has a tough matchup against the Rams, but I think McDonald will be able to deliver.

Honorable mention: McDonald (vs. STL).

Kicker

Nick Novak, K HOU

(6.37 percent)

Novak gets a home game against Jacksonville. It’s a really nice matchup because it’s indoors, and Houston should be able to move the ball well. Novak has made 14 of his last 15 field goals, missing just once since Week 5. Dustin Hopkins and the Redskins end the regular season at Dallas. Washington is locked in as the fourth seed, so I’m not sure who they’ll roll out there for this game. Dallas also doesn’t have much to play for. Playing indoors, I like Hopkins’ chances of producing in this one.

Honorable mention: Hopkins (at DAL).

Team defense

Indianapolis Colts

(25.5 percent)

The Colts get a nice home matchup with the Titans. As of now, Indianapolis has an extremely slim chance of making the playoffs, so they’ll be full-go in this one. Zach Mettenberger will be under center for Tennessee while Stephen Morris looks like the likely starter for the Colts. This game could be a mess all the way around. Playing at home, I like Indianapolis’ chances of coming up with a couple turnovers. Ironically, my other defensive play for the week would be Tennessee. Morris, a player added to the Colts’ roster last week, will be making his first start. The Titans laid an egg against Houston last week, but the matchup is too enticing to ignore.

Honorable mention: Tennessee (at IND).

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