Week 5 Fantasy Football Streaming Options
Quarterbacks killed it on the stream in Week 4, with two of our three recommendations finishing among the top three in fantasy points at the position. Deshaun Watson came through again with a league best 33.72 points, while Andy Dalton put up 28.34 points, good for third among quarterbacks in Week 4. Even Jared Goff produced 18.1 fantasy points, which made him the 14th-best signal caller of the week. Cameron Brate got in on the action, too, putting up 18 PPR points, the third most at tight end last week.
For streaming purposes, 4for4’s Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) is a metric we rely on heavily to determine weekly matchup strength. As the season progresses and more data is available, aFPA becomes more and more reliable, using rolling 10-week data. Targets and efficiency metrics are also considered when coming up with weekly streamers.
To provide advice that you can actually use, candidates for streaming must be available in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy leagues.
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff, Rams vs. Seahawks (33% owned)
Goff doesn’t have a premier matchup this week, but his weekly production is hard to ignore. Goff is the No. 10 quarterback in standard-scoring leagues through four weeks, with an average of 17.25 points per game.
Seattle has lost both of their road games this season, though they did hold Aaron Rodgers in check, at least by his standards, in Week 1. Marcus Mariota, however, threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks, good for 19.7 points in Week 3. Goff has turned a corner this season, and the Rams offense looks like a well-oiled machine with Sean McVay at the helm. Even if this isn’t Goff’s best week of the season, he still projects as a solid streaming quarterback.
Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings
Jacoby Brissett, Colts vs. 49ers (6% owned)
The Colts fill-in starter has been serviceable in his time under center, rushing for two touchdowns in Week 3 against the Browns, and passing for 157 yards and a score last week against the Seahawks. Brissett seems to be getting a bit more comfortable in the offense and has a decent matchup in Week 5 with the 49ers coming to town.
The winless 49ers gave up 23.58 fantasy points to Jared Goff in Week 3, and an average of 14.9 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in their other three matchups. While he’s not the sexiest of streamers, Brissett could be a nice bye week replacement if your waiver wire is on the thin side and you typically start Drew Brees, Matt Ryan or Kirk Cousins.
Tyrod Taylor, Bills at Bengals (44% owned)
Taylor remains one of the most underappreciated quarterbacks in the league, from both real-life and fantasy standpoints. He has 59.56 fantasy points through his first four games, and owns two weeks with more than 17 points, a number that typically plays as a QB1 in 12-team leagues. The Bills are 3-1 and are winning games despite a lack of weapons on the outside. Charles Clay is this team’s best pass-catcher. That’s not a knock on Clay, but rather a statement of fact that drives home just how well Taylor has played this season. Just imagine what he could do if the Bills ever game him something to work with at receiver.
This admittedly isn’t a great matchup, with the Bills going on the road as underdogs to take on a Bengals defense with a strong secondary. Still, Clay can present a mismatch, and Taylor has made a living out of doing more with less. With all the big names on bye, and injuries to Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota, the streaming bar is lower than ever this week. Taylor should easily clear it.
Tight Ends
Antonio Gates, Chargers at Giants (31% owned)
Gates’s ownership is a bit surprising, given that he has 17 targets to Hunter Henry’s 11 through the first four weeks of the season. Henry has one big game on the books and made an acrobatic touchdown catch last week, but Gates still owns the trust of Philip Rivers, and that will serve him well all season. That could be huge for him this week with a juicy matchup on tap.
This week, the Chargers host a Giants defense that ranks 31st in the league at defending the tight end position, with an aFPA of 21.4 PPR points to opposing tight ends. Jason Witten, Eric Ebron, Zach Ertz, Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard all found the end zone against the Giants, combining for 26 catches, 299 yards and five scores. Basically, every tight end turns into Rob Gronkowski with the Giants on the other side of the ball. Henry, too, is worth a stream if he’s available in your league.
Fantasy Football Week 5: Rams Have Morphed Into a Possible Offensive Juggernaut
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jets at Browns (7% owned)
If any defense can challenge the Giants for worst at defending the tight end, it’s the Browns. The Browns have an aFPA of 22.8 PPR points against tight ends this season, the highest in the league. They held Jack Doyle in check, but the three other starting tight ends they’ve faced—Jesse James, Ben Watson and Tyler Kroft—totaled 20 catches for 200 yards and four scores. That’s not exactly a murderer’s row of tight ends, either, but they might as well have been Gronkowski, Travis Kelce and Jordan Reed, judging by their stats.
Upon return from a two-game suspension to start the 2017 season, Seferian-Jenkins is averaging a respectable 8.4 PPR points per game in a Jets’ offense that is still figuring out its identity. He has caught nine of 10 targets for 77 yards this season, turning into a reliable option in the middle of the field for Josh McCown. Recall, too, that McCown has always leaned on a tight end when he’s had the option, most notably Martellus Bennett in Chicago and Gary Barnidge in Cleveland.
Ben Watson, Ravens at Raiders (23% owned)
This Week 5 matchup is a good one for Watson, as the Raiders are allowing double-digit fantasy points per week to tight ends, and Joe Flacco’s offensive line isn’t holding long enough for deep routes down the field to develop, at least with regularity. Watson may be comfortably on the wrong side of 30, but he ranks 10th among tight ends in PPR scoring this season. It’s tough to trust Baltimore’s offense, but Watson has the look of a low-end TE1 this week.
Week 5 Fantasy Football Injury Report
Defenses
New York Jets, at Browns (16% owned)
Cleveland quarterback DeShone Kizer is still very green, with more than twice as many interceptions (eight) as touchdowns (three). The Browns offense has been anemic with the rookie under center, and Isaiah Crowell regressing after a big 2016 season. The Browns lack of playmakers on the outside should give the Jets freedom to rush Kizer at will.
Buffalo Bills, at Bengals (39% owned)
The Bills defense has been quietly impressive, allowing no more than 17 points in a game this season. In Week 5 the Bills travel to Cincinnati, and while the Bengals have picked it up offensively since Bill Lazor took over as offensive coordinator, they still haven’t proved they’re an offense to fear. Remember, too, that their best game of the season, by far, came against hte Browns. The Bengals offensive line has put Andy Dalton in tough situations time and again this year, and Buffalo’s pass rush has been a joy to watch. Except for opposing offenses, of course.
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Detroit Lions, vs. Panthers (49% owned)
The Lions are just unowned enough to qualify as a streamer, though that could change after this week. Detroit leads the league in defensive fantasy points, racking up 10 sacks, seven interceptions, four fumble recoveries and three touchdowns through the first four games of the season. That sort of opportunistic defense is fantasy gold, and there’s reason to believe the Lios can keep it rolling all season. The Panthers finally got going last week, but we surprisingly need to take every game against the Patriots with a grain of salt. Cam Newton has been turnover-prone this season, and that’s a bad trait to bring into a game against a ball-hawking defense like Detroit’s.
