Week 6 brings the bye weeks and, with them, a whole new batch of fantasy managers looking to live the stream. If you’re new here, welcome. Every week I bring you my five favorite streaming options at quarterback, tight end, and defense from our Week 6 rankings. Every player I mention was available in over half of ESPN fantasy leagues as of Wednesday morning, after waivers had already run. Of course, some weeks are better than others. Week 4 was great, but Week 5 was not—more on that in the next section.
You may also have noticed that I do not cover Kicker streams. We leave that to the experts, so check out Linda’s rankings.
Accountability
Fantasy tight ends will be the death of me. I’m certain of it. After a decent Week 4, where we hit on three of five tight ends, last week could not be more disappointing. To start, my Stream of the Week, Logan Thomas, was inactive. My #2 option, Cameron Brate? Inactive. So we had to drop all the way to 3rd on the list, and Tyler Conklin scored precisely as many fantasy points as Thomas and Brate. Fantasy tight ends will be the death of me.
On the week, we hit on just one QB and TE, but four DEF. It was the exact opposite of Week 4. Our Streams of the Week combined for just 19 fantasy points. When the QB12, TE12, and DEF12 are averaging 35 fantasy points per week, 19 ain’t getting done. For the season, we have built the QB12, TE22, and DEF17. We are only 24 fantasy points behind the 12th-ranked player at each position, but we can do better.
In fact, that is exactly what the Best of the Bunch score shows. This is the best of my five weekly picks; I just put them in the wrong spot. If you choose from my five options better than I do, you could have built the QB2, TE7, and DEF1, all with players available in more than 50% of leagues. I just need to get it together when picking my Streams of the Week. Now, let’s see if I do better in Week 6.
Streams of the Week Recap
| QB | TE | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Week Wins | 4 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 2 of 5 |
| Season Wins | 36 of 80 | 28 of 80 | 47 of 80 |
| SotW - Last Week Rank/Score | QB7 / 26 fantasy pts | TE47 / 2 fantasy pts | DEF26 / 3 fantasy pts |
| SotW - Season Rank/Score | QB8 / 317 fantasy pts | TE19 / 101 fantasy pts | DEF29 / 81 fantasy pts |
| Best of the Bunch - Season Rank/Score | QB1 / 478 fantasy pts | TE2 / 221 fantasy pts | DEF1 / 243 fantasy pts |
*Best of the Bunch is my best pick each week, regardless if they were SOTW or not*
* Updated thru Week 15*
Week 6 Streams of the Week
Reminder: All picks were available in more than 50% of ESPN leagues on Wednesday after waivers had run.
2nd Reminder: You can find all of our Consensus Rankings here!
Quarterback
Stream of the Week – Daniel Jones vs BAL
Putting our faith in Daniel Jones is a gamble, but our choices are limited with four teams on bye. The good news is that Baltimore bleeds points to fantasy QBs. They have given up the 6th-most on the season, allowing 25 on average, and have not allowed fewer than 17 points to any QB this season. Perhaps more importantly, they’ve already allowed three QB-rushing TDs, and that is where Jones excels this year. On the season, Jones has the 3rd-most rushing yards of any QB. He is averaging eight rushes and 45 yards per game. Plus, he’s already run two TDs in this season. Jones’ legs give him a safe floor, and Baltimore’s leaky defense makes him the Stream of the Week.
Other Options
- Jimmy Garoppolo @ ATL
- Jacoby Brissett vs NE
- Carson Wentz @ CHI
- Justin Fields vs WAS
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Tight Ends
Stream of the Week – Irv Smith @ MIA
It has been a hit-or-miss season with Irv Smith, but to be fair, you can say that for just about every tight end. While he is just the TE18 on the season, his 25 targets rank 13th at the position. So the volume is there; he just needs to capitalize. Enter the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins give up the 9th-most fantasy points to TEs and allow six catches for 60 yards on average. That alone would make Smith stream-worthy, and if he adds a TD, he’ll be a top-10 option.
A quick note about Taysom Hill: As long as he meets the criteria, Hill will be my permanent #2 on this list. He offers an upside that no streaming TE can match, but his floor is still very bad. That floor is why I would never consider starting him at QB, but he is worth the gamble at TE. My fundamental issue with calling him a TE will likely prevent me from ever calling him my Stream of the Week.
Other Options
- Taysom Hill vs CIN
- Evan Engram @ IND
- Will Dissly vs ARZ
- Juwan Johnson vs CIN
Wondering how I made some of my decisions? Check out our DFS Matchup report. It’s great for Start/Sit decisions, too!
Defense
Stream of the Week – Cleveland Browns vs NE
This is a risky gut call, and I debated switching to Minnesota multiple times. But since Josh already made me a pretty graphic, let’s ride with the Browns. The Patriots are a pretty good matchup for fantasy defenses, giving up eight fantasy points on average and allowing the 10th-most fantasy points to D/ST on the season. In addition, they have turned the ball over at least once in every game this season, which is an excellent indicator of fantasy points.
On the other hand, the Browns’ defense has been a huge disappointment. They are the 7th-worst fantasy DEF and have just nine sacks in five games. They do, however, average one takeaway per game. The last time I picked the Browns as my Stream of the Week, they scored a defensive TD to end the game and save my day. I am hoping for a repeat against Bailey Zappe this weekend.
Other Options
- Vikings @ MIA
- Bears vs WAS
- Commanders @ CHI
- Bengals @ NO
My Streams of the Week debut every Wednesday night on No Punt Intended. If you want to get ahead of the competition, join us live!