RADIO
Throughout the fantasy football season, streaming becomes an important part of winning your weekly matchups. This is especially true when we start hitting the bye weeks. Knowing who to stream and when to stream them could be the ultimate difference-maker in a weekly matchup, and making the right streaming decisions throughout the season could easily be the difference in winning a championship.
Each week, I will hone in on some key streamers you should look to plug into your lineups. They will be broken down based on ownership levels and league size. I will make specific recommendations for 14, 12, and 10-team leagues to give you the most guidance possible when selecting a streamer. 14-team streamers will be players with ownership levels around 15%, 12-teamers will be around 30%, and 10-teamers will be around the 45% mark. Keep in mind that just because a player is listed as a streamer for a particular league size, it does not mean you can't use them in a different league size. For instance, if a 12-team league streamer is available in your 14-team league, by all means, use them accordingly.
Let's take a look at Week 1's best streaming options.
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Stream Team for 14-Team Leagues
Frank Gore (RB, BUF) 15% Owned
I want to be very clear by stating this is an absolute stretch. If you are in a really deep 14-team league or are in a keeper league where you were unable to acquire running back talent, you can look to Frank Gore as a possibility this week while he is still considered the starter in Buffalo. The Jets finished 15th-worst in the league last season in fantasy points allowed to running backs with a total of 18.9 per game. They also allowed 1,514 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns to running backs in 2018.
This game also has a projected total of 41 points, so the game is not likely to get out of hand for either side, which means Buffalo likely won't have to abandon the run early. Again, this is a deep stream, but it is at least worth the mention.
Tre'Quan Smith (WR, NO) 17% Owned
Tre'Quan Smith finds himself in a prime matchup Week 1 versus the Houston Texans. The Texans are a team that ranked fifth-worst in passing yards allowed in 2018, allowing over 260 yards per game and 28 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Saints and Drew Brees finished 12th in the league in passing with a total of 4,042 yards. Brees had a total of six 300-yard passing games in 2018, five of which came at home.
Tre'Quan Smith is listed as the number three wide receiver on the Saints' depth chart, but look for Michael Thomas to draw double coverage often, which will leave Smith with an opportunity to make some big plays.
Nick Foles (QB, JAX) 18% Owned
Nick Foles makes his Jacksonville Jaguar debut Week 1 and he likely couldn't have asked for a better matchup from a fantasy standpoint. The Chiefs' offense is without a doubt one of the best in the league, however, their defense is far from that. In 2018, the Chiefs gave up the most passing yards to quarterbacks with 4,721 yards, and they also gave up the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, averaging 19.9 points per week.
This shouldn't be too surprising as Kansas City's opponents were often down early in games and had to resort to throwing the ball more often. Look for the same to hold Sunday as Nick Foles should have a good day, at least as far as fantasy totals are concerned.
Stream Team for 12-Team Leagues
Darren Waller (OAK, TE) 24% Owned
I'm on record as being a huge fan of Darren Waller's potential this season. He has the opportunity to begin his breakout campaign Week One against a relatively favorable matchup in the Denver Broncos. The Broncos gave up the seventh-most receiving yards to tight ends in 2018 with a total of 1,035. They also happened to be in the top half of the league in receiving yards allowed to wide receivers, which means Derek Carr won't be able to rely on the likes of Antonio Brown (if he even plays) and Tyrell Williams as much.
We all know Carr likes using his tight ends as noted by the production Jared Cook put up last season. Look for Carr and Waller to hook up multiple times this week in the favorable matchup, with potential for even more if AB doesn't see the field.
Marquise Goodwin (WR, SF) 29% Owned
Marquise Goodwin went into camp hoping to secure a prominent role in the San Francisco offense and comes out of camp as the number two wide receiver on the depth chart behind Dante Pettis. Goodwin finds himself in one of the most favorable matchups on the board. In Week 1, the 49ers will face off against a Tampa Bay defense that finished sixth-worst in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. They gave up an astounding 26.1 points to the position per week.
The total for this game is currently set at 50.5, which makes it the third-highest total on the board. If you need to stream a wide receiver in a 12-team league this week, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better matchup than Marquise Goodwin's.
Josh Allen (QB, BUF) 33% Owned
Josh Allen is in a great spot heading into Week One. He is facing a Jets Defense that was sixth-worst overall against the quarterback in fantasy points allowed by allowing 19.8 per game. The Jets were also fourth-worst against mobile quarterbacks as they allowed 353 rushing yards to quarterbacks. Josh Allen likes to run as he ran for a total of 631 yards last season. He also ran for 101 yards on nine carries in his only game against the Jets. Look for him to help stabilize this Bills offense by effectively moving the ball through the air, but also gaining precious yards on the ground. He makes for a solid stream by any team looking for help at the quarterback position Week 1.
Stream Team for 10-Team Leagues
Anthony Miller (WR, CHI) 47% Owned
Anthony Miller and the Chicago Bears face the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football to open the 2019 NFL season. Miller enters the season as the number two wide receiver on the Bears' depth chart and should have an exploitable matchup versus Green Bay. The Packers struggled against wide receivers in 2018. This is noted by their fourth-worst ranking in receiving yards and touchdowns against the position. They allowed 2,781 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns to wide receivers in 2018.
While the Bears are favored to win this game, the Packers' offense should force Chicago to keep using the pass to move the ball downfield. Miller is a worthwhile stream in Week 1 if you are looking for a serviceable wide receiver.
Nyheim Hines (RB, IND) 48% Owned
Nyheim Hines should be a solid stream in 10-team leagues this week. He comes into a matchup versus the Chargers as an underdog with an expected total of 45. The implied totals say the Chargers will win this game by six, which is great for the pass-catching Hines. The Chargers were worst in the league in 2018 against pass-catching running backs as they allowed 973 yards on 107 receptions. If the Chargers have the lead late in the game as they are expected to, Hines should rack up the catches and yards against them.
Jimmy Garoppolo (QB, SF) 56% Owned
Jimmy G is a solid 10-team streamer for many of the same reasons as Marquise Goodwin (above). This game has a high total of 50.5, and the 49ers are playing against one of the worst secondaries in the league as far as production to the quarterbacks and wide receivers are concerned. In 2018, the Bucs finished third-worst in the league by allowing 20.9 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They also gave up 33 passing touchdowns and only managed to come away with nine interceptions. Garoppolo's training camp and preseason have been subpar, but if he is going to right the ship, this is the matchup to do it.
