Since Alex Gelhar already masterfully identified some of the top waiver-wire targets ahead of Week 9, and Matt Harmon examined top deep league adds in his deep dive, it's my job to provide some streaming candidates at quarterback, tight end and defense for the upcoming slate of games. Keep in mind, most of these players/teams are bottom-of-the-barrel targets for deep leagues, and I'm not saying they're going to be top scorers at their position, but they should do enough to keep your team competitive in Week 9 if you need some assistance. So, let's get to it.
*Ownership percentage data from NFL.com fantasy leagues.
QUARTERBACKS
Josh McCown vs Bills (TNF) | 5.6% owned:Josh McCown finished as the fourth-highest scoring signal caller of the week in fantasy with 18.28 fantasy points. The 38-year-old veteran has played well of late with 820 pass yards, eight total touchdowns and just three picks over his last three games. During that span, he's logged no fewer than 18 fantasy points, and for the season McCown is averaging 15.2 fantasy points per game which good enough to rank him in the top 12 at the position. Buffalo's defense presents a favorable matchup as the unit is allowing the fifth-most pass yards per game (266) in the NFL. Most recently, Jamies Winston threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns against the Bills in Week 7, and they allowed another 300-yard game to Derek Carr in Week 8.
Jared Goff at Giants | 14% owned: Coming off a Week 8 bye, Jared Goff is yet again a streaming option at quarterback for his Week 9 matchup against the Giants on the road in New Jersey. Goff has performed well in favorable matchups this season against subpar pass defenses including the Colts (16.44 pts), 49ers (23.58 pts), Cowboys (18.2 pts) and Cardinals (18.7 pts). He's averaged 19.2 fantasy points per game in those four favorable matchups, and should continue that trend against New York. The Giants defense has allowed the sixth-most pass yards per game this season (258.7), along with 14 passing touchdowns, tied for third-most in the league. Goff has options, too, as five different Rams players have 27 or more targets on the season. He should be able to spread the ball around with enough success to provide solid fantasy value.
* Trevor Siemian at Eagles | 13.9% owned:* When this article was originally published, Trevor Siemian had yet to play against the Chiefs in Week 8. There's some optimism that the Broncos quarterback can break out of his recent slump with a favorable matchup against Kansas City so consider this a Week 9 recommendation to stream Siemian pending the outcome of the Monday night game. Denver has another decent matchup next week against the Eagles, a defense that has been vulnerable through the air all season. Philadelphia is one of only four teams to allow over 2,100 pass yards on the season, they're allowing the seventh-most pass yards on a per game basis (256.8) and have surrendered 13 passing touchdowns, tied for fourth most. If Sieimian can find his groove on the road in Kansas City, he'll be an option in Week 9 too. Even better, we found out Monday that Emmanuel Sandershas a good chance to be back on the field for that game after missing a few weeks with an ankle injury.
*Editor's Note: Trevor Siemian was abysmal against the Chiefs on Monday night. He threw three interceptions and now has fantasy point totals of 5.68 and 7.92 over his last two games. There's a chance he doesn't start at quarterback for Denver in Week 9. You can scratch him from this week's list of quarterback streamers.
Jacoby Brissett at Texans | 3.4% owned:Jacoby Brissett has been dealt a tough hand this season. But despite the Colts' struggles, the quarterback's worst fantasy outing over the last month was an 11.1 point game against the Jaguars, the best pass defense in the NFL, and that was with 10 sacks and zero touchdowns thrown. Brissett has posted at least 200 pass yards in each of his last four games and is averaging 36 attempts per game, so the volume is there which presents a safe-ish floor. And three of those last four games have basically been without the services of T.Y. Hilton as he's collected 19, 27 and 15 receiving yards in each contest respectively. Brissett should be capable of streaming quarterback production against a Houston defense that has allowed three top-five fantasy performances to quarterbacks in their last five games.
TIGHT ENDS:
Vernon Davis at Seahawks | 6.9% owned: Shocking no one, Jordan Reed suffered a hamstring injury in Week 8, forcing him out of the game in the first half. Coach Jay Gruden has already said that it's unlikely Reed plays in Week 9. Another Redskins tight end, Niles Paul, suffered a head injury in the game. So ageless wonder Vernon Davis is shaping up nicely as a tight end streamer against the Seahawks this week. In fact, Davis leads Washington in receiving yards over the last four games, with 241 on 11 catches. He's capable of big splash plays as we've seen a few times this season with gains of 26, 31, 51 and his longest, a nice 69-yard reception in Week 4. Davis should be a top priority on waivers with players like Rob Gronkowski and Kyle Rudolph on byes.
Tyler Higbee at Giants | 0.1% owned: Start. Your. Tight. Ends. Against. The. Giants. As my pal Alex Gelhar pointed out in his waiver-wire column this week, the Giants have allowed a touchdown to a tight end in every single game this season. No team is allowing more fantasy points per game to the position than New York (13.83) and while the Rams do have two players at the position who could see reasonable production, Higbee is the favorite given his 27 targets on the season compared to Gerald Everett's 13 targets.
Tyler Kroft at Jaguars | 6.7% owned:Tyler Kroft's ownership is still low enough to consider him a streamer at tight end this week against Jacksonville. He's consistently player 90-plus percent of the Bengals snaps since Tyler Eifert's been out with an injury and has racked up 19 catches on 22 targets for 175 yards and three touchdowns in the last four games. His four red zone targets in that span ties him with A.J. Green. The Jaguars defense presents a decent matchup too, as the unit ranks in the bottom half in terms of fantasy points per game allowed to tight ends with a 7.74 average.
George Kittle vs Cardinals | 1.2% owned: Rookie George Kittle remains a low-end streaming option at tight end as the 49ers limp through the season. He hasn't produced in the last two games as he was scripted off the field in a Week 7 blowout and had just two catches in Week 8. He was on the field for 61 percent of San Francisco's snaps on Sunday and with an injury to top wideout Pierre Garcon that could keep him sidelined for a few weeks, Kittle could see an uptick in volume given that quarterback C.J. Beathard has attempted 36 or more passes in each of his last three games.
Austin Hooper at Panthers | 10.9% owned: Coming off his most productive game since his Week 1 outburst of 128 yards and a score against the Bears, Austin Hooper is another low-end streaming option with six teams on bye. Hooper dropped 47 yards and a touchdown on the Jets in Week 7 on the heels of four catches on six targets. He's logged 16 targets over the last three weeks totaling 101 yards, and he's posted at least 47 receiving yards in three of his last four games. The Panthers have allowed four touchdowns to tight ends this season, which ties them for fourth-most among all NFL defenses.
DEFENSES (D/STs)
Tennessee Titans D/ST vs Ravens | 11% owned: Yes, the Ravens are coming off a big win in which they dropped 40 points on Miami in Week 8. But that was more a case of the Dolphins making the Ravens look good, than the Ravens actually being good. In fact, the Ravens had just 295 total yards in the game marking the third-straight contest in which they failed to post 300 yards of offense. And yes, I realize that Joe Flacco left the game early with a head injury, but the Flacco-led Ravens offense has been one to target when streaming defenses all season. The Titans are giving up a lot of points per game to opposing offenses this season, 24.7 to be exact, but the defense has limited opposing running backs to just 3.6 yards per carry. For the Ravens to have success, they'll need to run the ball, and that's been difficult for opposing teams against the Titans.
Oakland Raiders D/ST at Dolphins | 11% owned: Miami doesn't have a single rushing touchdown the entire season. Jay Cutler should be back from a rib injury, but he's been terrible even when healthy, averaging just 135 pass yards per game in his last three completed contests and has thrown a pick in all but one game. The Raiders are a risky option for sure, they're the lowest-scoring fantasy D/ST in the entire NFL. But a matchup against Cutler and the Dolphins is a perfect time for the Oakland secondary to get its first interception of the season. The unit should do enough to post a respectable fantasy line against a broken Miami offense.
Green Bay Packers D/ST vs Lions | 14.2% owned: The Lions are on a three-game losing streak and now head into Lambeau to face the Packers. Despite putting up 482 yards of offense on the Steelers last Monday night, Detroit failed to score a single touchdown. Their run game is virtually non-existent and Matthew Stafford has to force the ball to Marvin Jones and Golden Tate in order to move the offense. The Lions have also allowed 19 sacks over their last four games, which bodes well for Green Bay. Brett Hundley under center for the Packers doesn't exactly inspire confidence in this unit but they've held their own with at least one pick in their last four games, and no fewer than four fantasy points in their last five contests.
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