Week 15 of The Deep Stream is now available here.
The Deep Stream – 2019 Week 14
BY DAN KERBER / KERBERDAN89 / DECEMBER 3, 2019
Welcome to the second-to-last installment of The Deep Stream this year, where I share waiver and start/sit recommendations for the three streaming positions (QB, TE, DST) based on the Deep Stream scoring projection models. You can find a more detailed introduction to the approach and models here. Two great complementary tools to aid in your analysis are The Fantasy Footballer’s Stream Finder and Strength of Schedule Tool.
For everyone still alive in the playoffs, congratulations! And for the rest of you who are out of it but still managing your teams to avoid last place, crush an opponent’s dreams, or just finish the season with class – strong work, glad to still have you here.
All scoring data is from FantasyPros with standard scoring settings. With those housekeeping items out of the way, let’s dive in.
Summary
Quarterbacks
Adds
Ryan Tannehill (70% available). Since taking over full-time in Week 7, Tannehill is the QB6 in full games played despite putting up his worst game of the season this week. Somehow people have not jumped on him yet, and his game this week may scare your opponents away. Don’t make that mistake yourself – add Ryan Tannehill.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (92% available). Another guy I’ve had on the “Add” list for four weeks, Fitzpatrick is projected to be the QB5 Weeks 14-16. His top-3 finish this week will likely cause your QB-needy opponents to come around on the Fitzmagic experience as well, so some FAAB may be required to get him.
Streams
Sam Darnold (58% available) and Jacoby Brissett (53% available). Both guys had less-than-inspiring results last week, with Brissett coming in at the QB19 and Darnold straining the eyes with his QB30 “performance”. Despite that, both remain viable streams next week as they play Tampa (Darnold) and Arizona (Brissett), who are allowing the second and third-most schedule-adjusted fantasy points to opposing pass-throwers respectively.
Stashes
Daniel Jones (70% available), Week 15, David Blough (99% available), Week 15, and Andy Dalton (94% available), Week 16. These QBs’ scheduled tilts with Miami or Tampa Bay have them all projected to have top-8 weeks in Weeks 15 or 16.
Drops
Jared Goff (63% owned), Philip Rivers (52% owned) and Jimmy Garoppolo (70% owned). These QBs all project to be QB21 or worse RoS and should not be relied on for your playoff push (or even your consolation bracket push). Rivers has the only remotely playable match left of the group in his Week 16 contest with Oakland where he is projected to be the QB14 (assuming he isn’t benched by then).
A word about Josh Allen
Last week I held firm to my opinion that Josh Allen was a drop, and he again performed well, coming in as the QB10 vs. his projection of QB20. On the season, Allen is exceeding expectation by an average of 3.2 points per week based on opponent’s schedule-adjusted FPA. However, over the last six weeks, he is exceeding expectation by 5.1 points per week. So, Allen seems to have leveled-up and his projections could be adjusted accordingly. Giving him those extra points, he would go from being the projected QB25 RoS to the QB15 (albeit with top-5 upside). As I said last week, if you believe his recent performance is sustainable he is a viable low-end QB 1, and a low-end QB 1 performance is exactly what he gave you this week. I personally would prefer other options going forward given his remaining schedule, but Allen is a reasonable play.
Tight Ends
Adds
Jacob Hollister (52% available). Hollister is the projected TE6 RoS and the TE1 Week 16 when he takes on Arizona, the most tight-end friendly defense in the land.
Jack Doyle (48% available). With Ebron on IR and Hilton out with injury, Doyle’s target share increased dramatically. He should remain a focal point of the offense going forward and has a very favorable schedule, including a match with Tampa Bay this week that has him projected to be the TE1.
Ryan Griffin (60% available) and Daniel Fells (69% available). Projected to be borderline TE 1’s / TE 2’s RoS, both are playable in the current dystopian tight end landscape.
Streams
Vance McDonald (45% available), One-week stream. McDonald is currently unplayable in standard 12-team leagues. Unless, that is, he is facing the Arizona defense which is giving up 16.8 points per week in schedule-adjusted fantasy points to opposing tight ends, the most in the league and 32% more than second-place Tampa Bay. McDonald projects to be the TE4 this week.
Stashes
David Njoku (25% owned), Week 15. Njoku failed to get onto the field last week and is a very speculative add. However, if he plays this week and re-establishes himself as a steady part of the offense, he has TE1-upside in Week 15 when the Browns take on Arizona.
DSTs
Adds
Kansas City (76% available). The surprisingly-respectable Chiefs DST is projected to be the DST5 RoS and comes with potential upside when they take on Denver and their rookie signal-caller in Week 15.
Houston (72% available). Projected to be a low-end DST 1 RoS, Houston’s defense should get a boost this week when they get to be the first team to have tape to properly prepare for playing Denver’s new rookie QB, Drew Lock.
Seattle (57% available) and Carolina (49% available). The projected DST6 and DST7 RoS, Seattle and Carolina are solid options for your playoff roster if they happen to be available in your leagues.
Streams
Philadelphia (50% available). The projected DST3 this week is still available in half of leagues.
New York Jets (78% available). A scheduled tilt with the Dolphins has the Jets in line for a get-right game where they are projected to be this week’s DST4.
Indianapolis (60% available) and Green Bay (66% available) project to be this week’s DST9 and DST11, respectively.
Stashes
New York Giants (94% available), Weeks 15-16. The Giant’s defense is ranked 23rd on the year, but in the final two weeks of the fantasy season they play Miami and Washington, making them the projected DST7 over that time.
Washington (87% available). Week 16. The DST19 on the year projects to be the DST4 championship week when they take on Daniel Jones who’s 21 turnovers on the year are second only to Jameis Winston’s 25
Drops
Buffalo (84% owned, YTD rank: DST9, Projected rank Week 14-16: DST28). Despite being a top-10 defense on the year and putting up a combined 36 points the last three weeks, Buffalo’s remaining schedule is 31st-best against fantasy defenses, making them the projected DST28 RoS.
Chicago (96% owned, YTD rank: DST15, Projected rank Week 14-16: DST31). Another good defense with a bad schedule, Chicago has the worst remaining schedule in the league for fantasy defenses and projects to be the DST31 RoS.
That’s it for this week. As always please share your feedback in the comments section below or on Twitter. See you in the stream!