Fantasy Football: Week 13 Streamers to Consider
Thanksgiving week is here! That means having a great time with the family, eating delicious food, and of course, enjoying a lot of action-packed Thanksgiving football. We have no teams on bye this week, but there are some exciting matchups for the streaming crowd.
Just like every week, this article’s purpose is to highlight the most appealing streamers for the QB, K, D/ST, and TE positions to squeeze as many points as we can from these onesie positions. Fantasy playoffs are just around the corner, and next week will be Byepocalypse Pt. 2, so it’s extremely important to come out of this week with a win.
Before diving into the streamers, don’t forget to check Andy, Mike, and Jason’s weekly rankings if you need some help deciding who to start. Of course, you can also rely on the Start/Sit tool and the Ultimate Dashboard to get specific suggestions based on your roster.
Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson – Pittsburgh Steelers (44% rostered)
Mr. Unlimited has been playing solidly, throwing some beautiful deep passes, even in bad weather games like last week’s Thursday night snowfest. The problem is that he has struggled with end-zone completions which has capped his fantasy ceiling. However, this week he has an excellent matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have been allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Russell Wilson should be a fine streamer this week.
Bryce Young – Carolina Panthers (11% rostered)
We’re trusting the process here. Let’s face it: Bryce Young is getting better at playing football. Last week, he had his best performance of the season so far against the Kansas City Chiefs, completing 21 of 35 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. It’s important to note that he had no interceptions against the Chiefs’ tough defense, and he even managed to complete four 20+ yard passes. This next week, he should have a decent fantasy performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Forget about their game last week against Tommy DeVito and the Giants. The Bucs have been very permissive to quarterbacks this season, allowing over 23 fantasy points per game to the position. If Young continues playing this way, completing long passes and making fewer mistakes, he should be serviceable as a streamer.
Drake Maye – New England Patriots (30% rostered)
Last week, Drake Maye had a very rough time against the Dolphins’ defense, who played one of their best games of the season. Still, he managed to complete 22 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown while also rushing five times for 26 yards, which resulted in a not-so-terrible fantasy score, despite being sacked four times and intercepted once. He should be able to bounce back this week against the Indianapolis Colts, who have allowed over 19 points on average to QBs and have been pretty inconsistent on defense. The Patriots might be going through a dark period, but Drake Maye’s rushing ability and accuracy in key moments give him a solid floor and a decent upside.
Kickers
Brandon McManus – Green Bay Packers (10% rostered)
It seems like the Packers finally found a reliable kicker. Brandon McManus has yet to miss a kicking attempt since he joined the Green Bay Packers in Week 7. Last week, he converted five extra points and a field goal against the San Francisco 49ers, and this week he should see plenty of opportunity against the Miami Dolphins in Thanksgiving’s prime-time slate. The game has a 47.5 over/under and the Packers are home favorites. McManus should be a very fine streamer this week.
Chase McLaughlin – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (39% rostered)
As I mentioned last season in an article about the art of streaming fantasy football kickers, one of the best ways to predict success for a kicker in fantasy football is to look at the passing volume. Pass attempts are usually correlated to field goal attempts, and Baker Mayfield has been passing the ball a lot and very accurately. He is currently the QB3 in completions and he has Mike Evans back as his primary receiver, so the offense should be getting into field-goal range more frequently. This week they have a good matchup against the Carolina Panthers, who have been improving at least enough to keep the score alive. Check if Chase McLaughlin is available in your league since he was massively dropped two weeks ago during the Bucs’ bye.
Spencer Shrader – Kansas City Chiefs (52% rostered)
Since he came in relief for Harrison Butker, Spencer Shrader has been perfect, delivering the goods every time he’s been asked to kick the ball. After a disappointing Week 11 with very few opportunities against the Bills, last week he converted on three field goal attempts and three extra points. This week, the Chiefs are heavy 13-point favorites in a divisional matchup against the disastrous Las Vegas Raiders. Gardner Minshew‘s season is over after fracturing his clavicle and we will soon know if they will be able to activate Aidan O’Connell on time or if Desmond Ridder will be the starter. Either way, this should be a completely one-sided game, and Spencer Shrader should see a lot of chances to score fantasy points for your roster.
Defense & Special Teams
Dallas Cowboys (19% rostered)
This has not been a good season for the Dallas Cowboys, but their defense and special teams were on fire last week against the Washington Commanders. They were able to sack Jayden Daniels four times, adding two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and two special teams touchdowns. This week, they’ll have a chance to keep on shining against the New York Giants, who are a complete mess and will most likely once again be led by backup QB Tommy DeVito on Thanksgiving Day. The Cowboys D/ST should be a safe streaming play against them.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (64% rostered)
After having a piece-of-cake type of game against the Giants, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense and special teams have a couple of delicious treats on deck for the next two weeks: the Carolina Panthers and the Las Vegas Raiders. The Panthers’ offense has been making fewer mistakes lately, but it’s still a favorable matchup for the Tampa Bay defense. Their secondary is their weakest point, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem against Carolina.
Cleveland Browns (30% rostered)
The Browns’ defense used to be a heavily rostered unit, but as the season progressed, not many fantasy managers wanted to keep dealing with this team. The truth is, they can still be an uncomfortable defense in the right matchups. This week, they’ll play against the Denver Broncos in what should be a tight, defensive Monday night duel. This game’s over/under is 41.5, so even though the Browns are the underdogs, there isn’t a lot of damage expected to be done on either side of the ball.
BONUS: Tight End
Noah Gray – Kansas City Chiefs (6% rostered)
Yes, it’s time to have that awkward talk about that Chiefs tight end not named Travis Kelce. Noah Gray has seen at least four targets four times this season. Over the past two weeks, he’s had a total of nine targets, eight receptions, 89 yards, and four touchdowns (two each week). He is becoming a consistent option for Patrick Mahomes and this week the Chiefs will face the team that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to tight ends: the Raiders. Have the Chiefs finally found Kelce’s successor? It’s soon to tell, but at least you can stream him this week as a high-risk, high-reward option.
Taysom Hill – New Orleans Saints (63% rostered)
Just a friendly reminder that Swiss Army man Taysom Hill is still relatively available after the Saints’ bye week. They might heavily rely on him once again in this week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. He won’t be the TE1 every week, but there are very few players with this kind of ceiling. Don’t leave him on your league’s waiver wire.