Nothing is ever easy in fantasy football, and that's what makes it fun. Whether it's injuries, poor matchups or underperformance it's rare that we can count on starting the same players week-in-and-week-out. Sometimes we have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for options in good spots that given week for a desperation play.
Here we will look at five candidates each week, one or two from each of the four fantasy-relevant positions that make good spot starts in their upcoming games. These players are widely available on league waiver wires or sitting on the end of your beach, but whether by newfound opportunity or a good matchup, present sneaky value for the coming week.
Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco 49ers (6.9 percent owned)
It's a dire week for quarterback streamers, so let's approach this with caution. Some of the widely low-owned quarterbacks with favorable matchups are the likes of newly "anointed" Jared Goff and in danger of the hook Cody Kessler. There's always Alex Smith in matchup with the Buccaneers, but other than that, pickings are slim.
The state of the Week 11 streaming options brings us back to Colin Kaepernick. The on-field product hasn't been stellar, but he's improving statistically with more time in Chip Kelly's offense. Kaepernick has finished as the QB14, QB16, QB8 and QB5 in his four starts. The Patriots defense is showing some cracks, as Russell Wilson and the Seahawks picked apart the middle of the field areas in their Sunday night win in New England. Yet, the real key here is that the Patriots will almost certainly go up multiple scores on the 49ers, which will put them not only in positons to pass, but for Kaepernick to scramble. And truth be told, we're really just chasing a floor his running ability brings, anyway.
Dwayne Washington, RB, Detroit Lions (0.7 percent owned)
The once midseason sleeper returned to action to play 32 percent of the Lions snaps in Week 9 before the team went on their bye week. He looked to have retaken the big back job in Detroit from Zach Zenner after an injury cost him a chance to take a big role after Ameer Abdullah's early year injury. Washington totaled 10 carries on his 21 snaps. There's a glimmer of opportunity here.
The Lions welcome the slumping Jaguars in Week 11 in a game between two offenses that can move the ball, at least when the game is out of hand in Jacksonville's case. The Jaguars allow opposing teams to run the seventh-most plays per game in the NFL, as their offense can't stay on the field in the competitive portions of games. Their defense gives up 24.6 rush attempts per game, third-highest among NFL defenses. Washington has a shot to approach 15 carries in what should be a high-scoring affair especially if Detroit is in positive game script as Jacksonville plays catchup.
Eli Rogers, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (2.4 percent owned)
Eli Rogers looks like he's back as a staple of the Steelers offense. He's played 67 and 86 percent of the snaps in the last two games, and collected 15 targets over that span. Playing 84 percent of his snaps in the slot on the year, he adds a complementary asset that Pittsburgh needs with Sammie Coates becoming irrelevant opposite of Antonio Brown.
The Browns don't present any sort of challenge to opposing offenses. In particular, they struggle defending slot receivers. Cleveland gave up big games to Jordan Matthews, Jarvis Landry and Cole Beasley this season. The Steelers badly need a boat-racing win after dropping four straight. It's clear Rogers is a big part of the offense, and could be a part of such victory.
Marqise Lee, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (1.3 percent owned)
Marqise Lee owns a 15 percent share of the Jaguars' team targets, but he's been a steady impact producer of late. Lee has target totals of six, eight, three, eight and six in his last five games. He gets the easy, high-percentage targets on short routes in the middle of the field. The volume helps tremendously for his role, as it was only in that three target game that he checked in under 50 yards receiving.
In a Lions vs. Jaguars tilt that should feature a fair amount of points, Lee should be in positon to approach seven to eight targets. Lee averages 77.5 yards per game and six receptions in those games. The Detroit defense should cooperate in the quest to get Lee to a solid line. Their 70.7 catch rate allowed to wide receivers leads the league by a wide margin.
Vernon Davis, TE, Washington Redskins (4.5 percent owned)
In Week 10, Vernon Davis saw 53 percent of the team snaps to Jordan Reed's 79 percent. His three targets in this game were his lowest total over his last four games. Even in the two games that Reed has returned from concussion issues, Davis has remained involved. Davis has been on the field for 47 percent of Washington's snaps in their last two games and racked up 159 yards and a score on eight catches.
Davis makes for a risky play, but it appears the team does want him splitting reps with Reed, as they only deployed 12 personnel on 11 total plays in Week 10. Washington welcomes the Green Bay defense to their stadium on Sunday night. The Packers have been shredded by tight ends, as they've allowed the fourth-most yards per game to the positon. They've gotten worse of late, as they allowed five catches for 41 yards to Austin Hooper and five catches for 61 yards to Jack Doyle before getting obliterated by Delanie Walker on way to nine-catch, 124-yard day with a score to top it.
Matt Harmon is an associate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter _@MattHarmonBYB_ or like on Facebook.
