Fantasy News & Analysis

Streaming IDP options for Week 16 of the fantasy season

Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Brock Coyle (50) in the game against the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

We’re back again with our weekly look at the top streaming options in IDP fantasy leagues.

We followed up a good Week 14 with a good Week 15 as most of our IDP streamers contributed to the stat sheet. Washington lineman Matt Ioannidis was not one of those but should have been, creating six quarterback pressures and tying for second-most among lineman last week. Rams lineman Michael Brockers wasn’t far behind with four quarterback pressures but got on the board with a half sack. Meanwhile, Bengals linebacker Jordan Evans was third on the team with six tackles while Seahawks linebacker Michael Wilhoite had four tackles and added a pick. In the secondary, Patriots safety Patrick Chung had five tackles, a pass defensed, and even a quarterback hit on two pressures from his five pass-rushes.

Now we arrive at what everyone plays, and streams, for — championship week. Below are this week’s streamers for you to consider.

Defensive linemen

Tyrone Crawford, Dallas Cowboys

The last time we streamed Crawford, it didn’t have quite the results we had hoped. But his matchup this week is just too tempting. Seattle comes to town and brings one of the worst offensive lines in football. Not only do they have the 30th-ranked pass-blocking unit according to PFF grading but they also gave up a season-high seven sacks last week with five different players registering a sack.

As far as Crawford, he’s coming off a season-high 59 snaps last week and will have plenty of opportunities to get to Wilson as Seattle’s 36 pass attempts per game is good for 11th in the league. He isn’t nearly as effective as teammate DeMarcus Lawrence but that could work to his advantage as Lawrence will be the one drawing extra attention from Seattle’s pass-blockers. On his own, Crawford is only 28th in quarterback pressures but has done it despite being just 58th among lineman in snaps per game.

Stephon Tuitt, Pittsburgh Steelers

Tuitt is more of a name than Crawford but like Crawford is often overshadowed by a lineman on his own team, in this case Cameron Heyward. However, Tuitt is still available in many IDP leagues and plays a very good opponent for streaming purposes in the Texans who have been opposing lineman's dream this season. Not only does their offensive line rank as PFF’s worst pass-blocking unit but they literally give up the most fantasy points to edge rushers in the league. They’re also in the midst of giving up at least three sacks per-game in their last three games.

As for Tuitt, despite totaling just two sacks this season he’s quietly been one of the most efficient pass-rushers in the league. His 10.4 percent pass-rush productivity rating is third in the league while his 37 quarterback pressures is good for seventh despite missing four entire games and ranking just 16th in pass-rush snaps.

Roy Robertson-Harris, Chicago Bears

A deep sleeper I like this week is Robertson-Harris. The undrafted free agent is seeing more playing time thanks to a season-ending injury to Bears lineman Mitch Unrein and is making the most of it. In the three games since he’s seen his snaps increased, he ranks eighth in pass-rush productivity, creating four quarterback pressures on just 39 pass-rushes. He now faces a Browns team giving up the second-most fantasy points to pass rushers this season and have given up double-digit sacks in their last five games. They also throw it 36.3 times per game, good for eighth in the league. Cleveland doesn’t run a lot, ranking just 25th in rush attempts, but should they go that route, Robertson-Harris has performed well in his brief stint in the rotation, ranking 11th over the last three weeks in run-stop percentage.

Linebackers

Joe Thomas, Green Bay Packers

Filling in for the injured Jake Ryan last week, Thomas had his best game of the season, playing a season-high 59 snaps and totaling nine tackles. Beyond the raw numbers, Thomas was even better. His four run stops were second among linebackers last week while his 12.5 percent run-stop percentage was good for seventh. This should come in handy against a Minnesota team that is fourth in the league in rush attempts with 30.9 per game.

In general, it’s a favorable matchup for the undrafted journeyman. Minnesota gives up the third-most fantasy points to linebackers and is seventh in the league in plays per game with 66.2, giving Thomas plenty of opportunities for tackles. And it’s not like Thomas hasn’t had big games before. Filling in last year for the Packers, he had two double-digit tackle games and will be in a great position to do it again.

Brock Coyle, San Francisco 49ers

With NaVorro Bowman in Oakland and Reuben Foster spending the first part of the season injured, Coyle has quietly led the 49ers linebacking corps in snaps this season with 519. Now, you may not have heard much of Coyle because he hasn’t been particularly good, ranking just 81st of out 91 linebackers in PFF grades this season. Also, since he became a starter in Week 6, he’s ranked 14th in linebacker snaps but just 35th in run stops and has recorded just a half sack, one pass defended and one forced fumble. But his opponent offers too many opportunities to ignore. Not only does Jacksonville give up the most fantasy points to linebackers in the league but they also are second in plays per game with 67.1. Make no mistake, Coyle is a play strictly thanks to the amount of tackle opportunities he should have and should be on the field for close to 70 plays.

Defensive back

Mike Adams, Carolina Panthers

If Vegas is any predictor, the Panthers could blow out Tampa this weekend. And while that’s a great outlook for the Panthers offense, it could be even better for their defense and the secondary specifically. If Tampa gets behind early, they’ll be passing a lot more in an effort to catch up. That would be ideal for a player like Adams who doesn’t have the tackle numbers this season that he’s used to (with just 58, he’s on pace for his lowest total since 2013) but can still produce with enough passing opportunities. That won’t be a problem against Tampa who already average the fifth most pass attempts-per-game at 37.6. They also give up the second-most fantasy points to safeties, a lot of which comes from passes defensed, something Adams has eight of on the season.

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