Week 16 Fantasy Football Streamers: Can You Trust Gardner Minshew?
Week 16 is here and injuries continue to ravage our lineups heading into the fantasy football playoffs. Many of us will be looking to the waiver wire again this week to find streamer options that we can plug in and get some points during this most important time of the year.
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Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
You may have noticed that quite often in this article we are targeting the Minnesota Vikings’ pass defense. That’s because they rank 31st in the league and are allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Jones is capable of exploiting great matchups through the air. We saw him put up 341 yards against the Lions last month and his rushing ability gives him upside. Jones has rushed for at least 20 yards in all but two games this season, has scored five rushing TDs, and has a 100-yard game on his resume this season. There is a risk here, but the matchup makes him one of the best streaming options that are likely to be available for you to stream this week.
Gardner Minshew, Philadelphia Eagles
It looks like Jalen Hurts is probably going to miss Week 16. If you plan to go with Minshew be sure to follow the injury reports and make sure Hurts is ruled out. It would be disastrous if you get to Saturday, forget there are games on because you’re distracted by the holidays, and get no points because you weren’t paying attention. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, if you’re a team that lost Hurts, Minshew isn’t a terrible pivot option. The Cowboys’ defense hasn’t looked as strong lately as they are starting multiple backups on defense including at corner. Last week, we saw Trevor Lawrence throw for 318 yards and four TDs against this defense.
Minshew may not be Lawrence, but he’s as good a backup that you’ll find in the league and has a superior supporting cast. He will be out there with arguably the best offensive line in the league, elite pass catchers, and a rushing attack that will have to be respected. He should be a much safer option than a backup usually is.
Running Backs
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons’ rookie rusher is coming off the best game of his young career against the Saints. He set a bunch of career highs including 17 carries and 139 yards also adding a TD. The matchup this week is tough against the Ravens, but the Falcons insist on running the ball early and often no matter who the opponent is. That certainly isn’t going to change now that they are starting a rookie quarterback. The team also lost the third back in this committee Caleb Huntley opening up more touches for Allgeier. We expect him to see 15-20 touches in this game. We can’t guarantee what he’ll do with touches, but that kind of opportunity is almost impossible to find in a streaming option during your fantasy playoffs.
Deon Jackson, Indianapolis Colts
Fantasy analysts have been debating all week whether Jackson or Zach Moss is the guy to stream in Indy this week now that Jonathan Taylor has been placed on IR. Despite Moss seeing more carries last week, we land on the side of Jackson. The main reason being he’s just a much better player. When you watch both players on the field, Jackson is much more dynamic. He will also most likely be more heavily utilized in the passing attack and has already proven this year he could produce when given the opportunity. So we are betting on talent and upside. We hope Jeff Saturday does the same.
The Colts also have a great matchup against the Chargers who are 28th in the NFL against the run and allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs. The Chargers are also good enough to not fall behind by 33 so the game script will be less favorable to Moss who was sent in last week to rush for three yards and run down the clock. That didn’t go great and again, hopefully, Saturday sees the flaw in running Moss over Jackson.
Wide Receivers
D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers
Here we are again with DJ Moore. If you’re streaming him, he will easily be your scariest play of the week. However, the upside is undeniable. He is an ultra-talented player that Sam Darnold loves to target and has an amazing matchup. In two of the three games with Sam Darnold under center, Moore has posted nine receptions for 176 yards and two TDs on 12 targets. However, in that third game, he caught zero of his three targets and that floor of nothingness is where the problem lies and why you can probably stream Moore.
There is reason to be confident in Moore this week though. He will be matched up against the Lions who rank 30th in the league against the pass. They are also allowing the second-most fantasy points to wideouts this season. The 2,835 yards allowed to receivers is the most in the league and they will likely be without their top safety DeShon Elliott. It would seem even Darnold couldn’t ruin this matchup.
Chris Moore, Houston Texans
Moore continues to look like the last man standing in Houston. It doesn’t look like Brandin Cooks or Nico Collins will be back this week or maybe not even this season. He’s been the lead wideout the past two weeks and he’s seen 20 targets in those games that he took for 14 receptions and 166 yards. Much like DJ Moore, there is downside because of the quarterback, but an elite matchup against the Titans should ease some of your concerns. The Titans rank dead last in the league against the pass and are allowing the most fantasy points to wide receivers. This is as good a matchup you can possibly get that anyone, aside from Justin Herbert apparently, can exploit.
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders
This is by no means a good matchup against the 49ers, but if you are streaming a WR this week it’s unlikely you find a more talented player who doesn’t have a disaster quarterback throwing to him. Dotson started off the season on fire catching four TDs in his first four games before going down with an injury that cost him over a month of his rookie season. He looks to finally be healthy and playing great again. Over his past two games, he has caught nine of 15 targets for 159 yards and two TDs. If the other guys with great matchups aren’t available to you, Dotson may be because of his matchup. You can bet on his talent instead of plugging in a scrub with a decent matchup this week.
Tight Ends
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There isn’t a ton to say here other than we are targeting the Cardinals. They are completely incapable of slowing down any tight ends. They’ve allowed 91 receptions for 994 yards and 10 receiving TDs this season to tight ends which are all league highs. They are technically allowing the second-most fantasy points to the position because Taysom Hill went crazy against the Seahawks, but the Cardinals are worse. If we know this, Tom Brady knows this and he will exploit it.
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
On the other side of the field in the same game, we like McBride as a streaming option. The rookie is coming off the best game of his career catching four passes for 55 yards. He looks good out there and it seems like the team is finally starting to utilize him after he’s seen 11 targets over the past two weeks. The Bucs are also a solid matchup. They are allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
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