Since Alex Gelhar already masterfully identified some of the top waiver wire targets ahead of Week 16, Matt Harmon examined top deep league adds in his deep dive, and Marcas Grant supplied you with some players that can safely be dropped, 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 16 if you need some assistance. So, let's get to it.
**Ownership percentage data from NFL.com fantasy leagues. *
QUARTERBACKS
Blake Bortles at 49ers | 25.8 percent owned: Bortles posted his third 20-plus fantasy point game in four weeks on Sunday against the Texans. He threw for 326 yards, three touchdowns and no picks, marking his third-straight game with multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions. Yes, the Texans are a defense we've targeted streaming quarterbacks against all year but it was still an impressive performance. Marqise Lee even left the game early and Bortles still managed to put up a top-five Week 15 quarterback game. This week, Bortles heads to San Francisco in another good matchup. The 49ers are allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season, so if Bortles got you this far, there's no real reason to change things up now.
Joe Flacco vs Colts| 5.6 percent owned: For the third-straight week, Joe Flacco posted a solid fantasy line. He threw for 288 yards, two touchdowns, no picks on his way to a 21-point fantasy outing against the Browns. The late-blooming success of the Ravens run game has helped balance out Baltimore's offense and Flacco is thriving because of it. In fact, over the last three weeks, he's averaging 275.3 pass yards per game and 7.3 pass yards per attempt compared to a dismal 170.5 and 5.3 mark in respective categories in his first 11 games. Now, Flacco gets another great matchup against a Colts secondary that ranks bottom-10 in terms of fantasy points per game allowed to opposing signal callers.
Nick Foles vs Raiders | 6.4 percent owned: If you took a chance on Nick Foles in Week 15 you were handsomely rewarded with a QB3 performance. Foles threw for 236 yards and four touchdowns passes - all to different receivers. That whole "the Eagles have a ton of talent" narrative wasn't just bloviation after all. Foles is an experienced NFL backup quarterback with a successful track record and that showed up on Sunday. Granted, it was an amazing matchup against the Giants, but still. Now, Foles returns home to Philly to take on the Oakland Raiders on Christmas Day. The Raiders secondary has played poorly all year and the unit ranks as a bottom-half squad in terms of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks this season. Foles should only improve upon what he did in Week 15 and you're not crazy if you decide to stick with him or add him off waivers for your championship matchup.
Case Keenum at Packers | 36 percent owned: The Vikings returned home in Week 15 after a tough road loss, and thumped a circling-the-drain Bengals squad. Case Keenum was up to his usual activities, throwing for 236 yards and two touchdowns before getting pulled with a resounding 34-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. It was Keenum's fourth-straight game with multiple touchdown throws and at least 225 pass yards and his second straight 19-point game for fantasy owners. Since Week 10, Keenum has only thrown two interceptions (both against Carolina in Week 14). He's got top-10 upside again this week when he travels to Lambeau to take on a Packers defense that can't stop the pass. Green Bay has surrendered 10 passing touchdowns to quarterbacks over the last four weeks, the most in the league, and is tied for third-most allowed on the season with 26.
Alex Smith vs Dolphins | 90.7 percent owned: Coming off a surprising performance against the Chargers, one of the best defenses in the league, Alex Smith is back on the streaming radar. Smith threw for 231 yards, two scores and no picks against Los Angeles last week and gets to stay on his home turf when the Dolphins saunter into Kansas City in Week 16. Since the chiefs handed play calling over to OC Matt Nagy, the offense is averaging 426.3 yards per game, 29 points per game and has a 40 percent third-down conversion rate. All of those factors boost Smith's outlook against a Miami defense that's in shambles (besides that MNF win over New England). Miami has allowed 24 pass touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks and allowed Tyrod Taylor, not known to be a prolific passer, to throw for 224 yards and rack up 23 fantasy points against them.
Jared Goff at Titans | 61.5 percent owned: The Rams dropped 42 points on the Seahawksin Seattle last week, but Jared Goff let Todd Gurley do most of the heavy lifting. Goff threw for just 120 yards and one touchdown for 10 fantasy points in the game. He's somewhat come back to Earth after a hot midseason stretch, but to his credit, the second-year quarterback has had some difficult matchups in recent weeks against the Vikings, Eagles and Seattle. He's got his top wideout back in Robert Woods who hauled in Goff's only touchdown pass in Week 15. Now the Rams cruise into Tennessee to take on a Titans defense that just allowed over 400 yards of offense to Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers. Plus, the Titans have zero takeaways in back-to-back games. Goff's arrow is pointing up for Week 16.
Matthew Stafford at Bengals | 95.3 percent owned:Matthew Stafford is a low-end streamer with a road game against Cincinnati on Sunday. Since the Lions Week 8 bye, Stafford has averaged about 17 fantasy points per game with his worst performance on the road in Baltimore in Week 13 with 11.88 points. His 501 pass attempts rank him fourth among all quarterbacks on the season, and his 25 pass touchdowns tie him with Alex Smith for fifth-most this year. The Lions have virtually zero run game, so Stafford has to move the offense through the air. He should have no trouble tormenting a Bengals secondary that has struggled since Vontaze Burfict has been sidelined. Cincy has allowed 33.5 points per game and 414 total yards per game to opponents the last two weeks.
TIGHT ENDS:
Eric Ebron vs Bengals | 67.8 percent owned: Over the course of his last three games, Eric Ebron has piled up 22 targets, 19 receptions, 165 yards and a touchdown. The 22 targets ranks second on the Lions during that three-week span behind only Golden Tate (24). Ebron has landed squarely on the streaming radar with a game against the Bengals this week. Cincinnati has allowed over 700 yards to the position this season and have been scored on by tight ends in each of their last two games (Adam Shaheen and Kyle Rudolph).
Charles Clay vs Patriots | 14.2 percent owned:Charles Clay leads the Bills in targets (17), receptions (10) and receiving yards (99) over the last three weeks. That includes the infamous "snow game" in which he had just two catches for 11 yards. With Kelvin Benjamin at less than 100 percent due to a knee injury, Clay will be Tyrod Taylor's most reliable pass-catching option in a game against the Patriots next week.
Jack Doyle at Ravens| 79.2 percent owned:Jack Doyle's 12 receptions over the last three weeks ranks first on the Colts. He's seen 16 targets on that span, collected 67 receiving yards (second on the team) and has a touchdown. With the Ravens likely to lock up T.Y. Hilton at all costs in this one, Doyle may become the most reliable option underneath for Jacoby Brissett. It helps that the Ravens allow 7.76 FPPG to opposing tight ends which makes them a bottom half unit in terms of limiting the position.
Garrett Celek vs Jaguars | 1.1 percent owned: In his three starts this season with the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown two touchdown passes. The same player has been on the receiving end of both, and that's tight end Garrett Celek. He now has 60-plus yards and a touchdown in each of his last two games. In the three Garoppolo games, Celek ranks third on San Francisco with 11 targets and his 160 receiving yards is second on the team behind Marquise Goodwin. His matchup against the Jaguars isn't extremely appealing, but I dare you to name five tight end matchups that you can consider "appealing" in Week 16.
Benjamin Watson vs Colts | 6.0 percent owned: In the last three games in which the Ravens offense has been firing on all fronts, Benjamin Watson has seven receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Yes, he ghosted in Week 14 against the Steelers, but a matchup against the Colts is favorable. Indianapolis has surrendered seven touchdowns and over 700 receiving yards to the position this season making them a bottom-10 unit in terms of limiting fantasy tight ends.
DEFENSES (D/STs)
Kansas City Chiefs D/ST vs Miami Dolphins | 77.5 percent owned: Kansas City's defense has tightened up in recent weeks, posting fantasy totals of 10 and 14 points against Oakland and Los Angeles. They allowed 15 and 13 points respectively in those two contests and racked up seven turnovers and five sacks. Now they welcome the Dolphins into Arrowhead, where they should thrive again. Miami's offense remains one of the worst in the league, and Jay Cutler just threw three interceptions against the Bills. In addition, Miami has three or more giveaways in four of their last five games. If the Chiefs can limit Kenyan Drake's production the unit makes for a fine fantasy streamer at home.
Los Angeles Chargers D/ST at New York Jets | 34.3 percent owned: The Chargers just got thumped at Arrowhead, so there's a chance the unit gets dropped ahead of Week 16. Take advantage if they do, because now the unit travels to New York to take on a Jets offense led by Bryce Petty. In his 2017 debut in New Orleans last week, Petty threw for just 179 yards with one touchdown and two picks. The Chargers pass rush combination of Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa should have their way with Petty and force him into at least a few mistakes. And with Casey Hayward lurking in the secondary, the Jets should struggle to move the ball. Chalk Week 15 up as an outlier for one of the league's best defenses.
Denver Broncos D/ST at Washington Redskins | 84.1 percent owned: Denver is back on the radar as a fantasy option following a three-game streak of serviceable fantasy output. The unit has posted fantasy totals of four, 14, 18 and five points over their last four games and have allowed opposing offenses to combine for just 13 points against them in the last two weeks. Now, Von Miller and company head to Washington to take on the Redskins patchwork offensive line. Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins has also struggled to produce in recent weeks with fewer than 200 pass yards in back-to-back games. You can confidently roll out the Broncos D/ST in Week 16.
Detroit Lions D/ST at Cincinnati Bengals | 32 percent owned: The Bengals were the worst overall offense in the NFL heading into Week 15 and they retain that status after collecting a mere 161 total yards of offense against the Vikings last week. Here are some scary stats about how poorly the Bengals performed last week: The offense didn't cross midfield until there was 3:07 left in the third quarter, they had 42 yards in the first half and they had one first down in the first half. The team has scored just seven points in back-to-back games. This isn't even about the Lions defense being great, though they have limited opposing wideouts to just eight receiving touchdowns all year; but it's more about the Bengals offense being terrible.
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