Stream of the Week: QB, TE, and Defense Rankings | Week 16

Streaming gets interesting this time of the year. In most cases, there are only four teams left in your league, and, in most cases, they have one of the best QBs and TEs. These teams are in the semi-finals for a reason. There might not be a need to stream those positions anymore, and I get that. But that is not always the case. I am in a 16-team championship, and a 32-team semi-final, and my starting QBs will be Michael Penix and Carson Wentz. It’s going to be a wild week. Just know that I don’t just give recommendations; I ride (and sometimes die) with these streaming picks, too! Let’s get that much-needed Week 16 victory with the best QB, TE, and Defense streaming options from our rankings.

A Quick Note: You will notice that I do not cover Kicker streams. We leave that to the experts, so check out Linda’s rankings.

Accountability

Am I any good at this? I’ll let the numbers tell you. In this section, you’ll see how my Stream of the Week (SOTW) and Best Pick finish every week. Since I always give five options, my Best Pick is the one that scores the most points, even if I didn’t call it the Stream of the Week. Basically, Best Pick shows you what streaming is capable of.

Scores and rankings are based on PPR scoring and 4-point passing touchdowns. Although the world uses 6-point passing touchdowns, data providers love 4-point, and I am trying to keep this simple.

If you want to see my old picks, this link will take you to my past Stream of the Week articles.

Week 16 Streams of the Week

Note: All of these players were available in around 50% of ESPN leagues as of Wednesday morning after waivers had run.

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford @ NYJ

It’s a great matchup for the Stafford and the Rams this week. The Jets allow the 2nd-most points to QBs over the last five weeks, and four of those five QBs have scored multiple TDs on them. They also allow the sixth-most points to WRs in that span, and Stafford has two of the best in Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Over the last eight games, Stafford has been a top-10 QB in fantasy, and he feels safe to finish there again in Week 16.  There is a safe floor, and if Aaron Rodgers plays as well as he did last week, this game could turn into a low-key shootout.

Other Options

• Aaron Rodgers vs. LAR
• Michael Penix vs. NYG
• Cooper Rush vs. TB
• Drake Maye @ BUF

Tight End

Brenton Strange @ LV

Strange being this available after his Week 15 performance can only be explained by the fact that most playoff teams left probably have Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and George Kittle. No need to go after a streamer when you have a stud. Strange was the TE2 last week and led all tight ends in targets and receptions. Mac Jones loves him, and in PPR formats, he might have the safest floor of any tight end this week. Over the last eight games, no team allows more fantasy points to TEs than the Las Vegas Raiders. In that span, seven tight ends have scored 9+ fantasy points on them, and three of those have been 20+ performances. We call that low risk/high reward. Strange is the perfect semi-final stream for any team with a questionable tight end.

Other Options

• Pat Freiermuth @ BAL
• Mike Gesicki vs. CLE
• Dalton Schultz @ KC
• Chigoziem Okonkwo @ IND

Green Bay Packers vs. NO

The Packers are a top-5 defense in fantasy this season and get a great home matchup against the Saints. New Orleans travels north from their comfortable dome to play in Green Bay in December. The Saints will also be running rookie Spencer Rattler out as their starting QB. Oh, and Alvin Kamara is hurt. This is an offense that barely crossed 200 yards last week, and they are getting worse. In that Week 15 game, they also gave up three sacks and one turnover. I won’t be surprised if those numbers double this week. Green Bay should dominate this matchup.

Other Options

• Bills vs. NE
• Cardinals @ CAR
• Colts vs. TEN
• Bengals vs. CLE

Be sure you’re following Ryan on Twitter! Also, you can find Club Fantasy’s Week 16 rankings here and the rest of our Week 16 content here!