Streaming Quarterbacks: Week 15 Targets

Dec 15, 2015

If you’re still reading this, congratulations! You are, almost certainly, into your league’s playoffs and possibly into a second-round matchup. Even bigger congrats, because your interest in this article suggests you’ve done it while streaming QBs. This has been a banner year for the late-round, streaming QB approach, and many of us who waited on QB have built strong teams around the theory.

Now, heading into Week 15, it is time to finish strong. Many of our streaming options are playing on the road this week, but do not let that deter you. I prefer home teams, but my picks rely in part on the Vegas projected point totals, which include a slight downgrade to road teams. The QBs I’ve picked still look favorable, even on the road this week.

For the year, our streaming QBs are averaging 16.6 fantasy points per week, finishing inside the top-twelve in roughly half their games. I am most proud of the fact that across forty games played by our streaming picks, there have only been four single-digit games. A streamer’s nightmare consists of an endless series of games like Nick Foles had in Week 3, six points in what looked like an ideal matchup. (Heck, the nightmare could just consist of Foles’ entire 2015 season.) Building in a nearly rock-solid 10-point floor at QB is invaluable if you put together a strong team at every other position after waiting on QB. Hopefully that has worked out well for you this year.

Now, on to Week 15. As always, our primary focus will be on each quarterback’s fantasy points per attempt, because of how well that correlates with fantasy production, and on aFPA for the defenses they face. We will continue to use 60% ownership as our threshold, meaning that our streamers must be available in at least 40% of leagues, before waivers run for the week.

Week 15 QB Streaming Targets

Alex Smith (KC) at Baltimore Ravens

This week, Alex Smith presents the rare trifecta for a streaming QB: he is a top-ten QB in terms of fantasy points per attempt, with a top-ten Vegas line, facing a bottom-ten pass defense. The Ravens are 31st in aFPA to opposing QBs, and Smith has quietly put together a very strong year. The main risk here is that the Ravens won’t be able to score enough points to require Kansas City to keep passing deep into the game, but Vegas projects the Chiefs to score well and hopefully a fair portion of that will come through the air. Smith scores out very well this week in my numbers, and he is well ahead of my other two streaming options this week.

Smith is available in 68% of Yahoo public leagues, and he is my optimal streamer of the week.