The Stream Option is a weekly article where The Undroppables explore the best options at Quarterback, Defense, and Tight End that should be available in most leagues.
*Note: ESPN rostership rates were gathered prior to the weekly waiver run and have likely changed.
Quarterbacks
Philip Rivers – IND vs MIN
Aaron Rodgers torched the Minnesota defense in Week 1 with 30.76 fantasy points, while throwing for 364 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Packers wide receivers constantly burned the Vikings cornerbacks throughout the game. Meanwhile, the Vikings failed to tally a single sack against the Packers, and, with Danielle Hunter still on IR, the Vikings pass rush will continue to struggle to reach the Quarterback in Week 2 against Brad Wire’s #1 ranked offensive line. While Rivers struggled Week 1 against the Jacksonville defense, he should be able to bounce back against the paltry Vikings Defense in Week 2. Rivers is rostered in only 20.2% of ESPN leagues and that number could be even lower after waiver runs due his poor performance in Week 1. He is most likely available in your league, and there are worse options if you are looking to stream this position.
Mitchell Trubisky – CHI vs NYG
The Giants defense gave up 22 points and a top ten QB finish to Big Ben on Monday Night, doing little to disprove any pre-season expectation of them to have one of the lower-tier defenses. Meanwhile, Trubisky lit up the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter on Sunday, finishing with 242 yards and 3 touchdowns in a comeback win. Trubisky has ample opportunity to keep his starting job and continue to put up points with another nice matchup in Week 2. Trubisky is only rostered in 2.7% of ESPN leagues. As long as there aren’t any hardcore Bears fans in your league, he will be available. This will be a great game for Mitch to prove if he can continue to stay fantasy viable.
Other options: Ben Roethlisberger vs DEN (65% rostered), Kirk Cousins @ IND (22.1% rostered)
Tight Ends
I want to preface this section by saying that Dallas Goedert is only rostered in 27.2% of ESPN leagues and just finished Week 1 with the highest score by any Tight End. There is little excuse for this number not to absolutely skyrocket, and you should be one of the people helping to increase that roster percentage. If he continues to surpass Ertz in targets like he did Week 1, it is likely Goedert will have a huge season. Read more about Goedert and other waiver wire pickups in UNtangling The Waiver Wire.
Austin Hooper – CLE vs CIN
While Hooper was out-targeted by David Njoku in Week 1, Njoku suffered a sprained MCL near the end of the game and was placed on IR, meaning he will be out for the next three weeks. Meanwhile, Hunter Henry finished last week as the TE12 against the Bengals even with a poor performance from Tyrod Taylor. Hooper is rostered in 67.7% of ESPN leagues and has already proved that he can be an elite option while with the Falcons. The Browns need to have a bounce back game after getting trounced in Week 1 and getting the ball to a camp darling in Hooper should be on the menu.
Tyler Eifert – JAX @ TEN
Noah Fant was able to catch 5 passes for 81 yards and a score on Monday Night against the Titans. While Eifert is not as good an option as Fant, and the Titans will have Rashaan Evans in this game, Eifert will still see a solid matchup in Week 2. With only a 6.4% rostership rate on ESPN, Eifert should fill in decently as a last ditch option in Week 2.
Logan Thomas – WAS @ ARI
Arizona was by far the worst defense against the Tight End position last year. On the surface, last week’s performance against San Francisco and George Kittle looks like they may have remedied the issue. However, the 49ers were without both starting wideouts, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, and the Cardinals were very keyed into George Kittle defensively. Washington will still feature Terry McLaurin in their passing attack, so don’t expect the same kind of defense Arizona played against Kittle this week. In their Week 1 game against the Eagles, Thomas (eight) was the most targeted Washington receiver. He turned those targets into 4 receptions, for 37 yards and a touchdown. While the efficiency was lacking, the volume was there and he should see increased efficiency against the Cardinals’ secondary.
Other Options: Chris Herndon vs SF (41% rostered), O.J. Howard vs CAR (4.9% rostered)
Defenses
Cardinals D/ST – ARI vs WSH
While Thomas showed up last week, the rest of the Football Team offense didn’t, as the Eagles D/ST finished in the top ten at the position. This is due to Washington gaining the least amount of total offensive yards by any team in Week 1. Somehow, the Eagles let that turn into 27 points, but don’t expect the same from the Cardinals. Expect the Cardinals to have a decent fantasy output in Week 2, although their inability to force sacks and turnovers will likely mean they won’t be elite this week. With only a 1% rostership rate on ESPN, they’re a solid add if you don’t need your defense to win you your game.
Browns D/ST – CLE vs CIN
While the Browns’ defense got cooked by the Ravens in Week 1, they were without or saw heavily limited versions of Mack Wilson (ILB), Olivier Vernon (Edge), and cornerbacks Greedy Williams and Kevin Johnson. With all those defensive players hopefully returning for Thursday night and a juicy match-up against the Bengals offense, the Browns could do well Thursday night. Personally, I’m not terribly excited about them coming back to health on a short week but a rookie QB on a short week is always a viable start. The Browns are rostered in 3.1% of ESPN leagues, so they will very likely be available.
Chiefs D/ST – KC @ LAC
Tyrod Taylor couldn’t seem to get it going in Week 1 against the below average Bengals defense. Next, he’ll face off against a Kansas City defense that was able to limit Deshaun Watson in most of their Week 1 match-up and really kicked their defense into gear in the second half of 2019. This could be another solid game from a defense that is coming off a top-ten finish at the position. The Chiefs are my go-to defensive stream for Week 2 with my only worry being a garbage time yards and points being racked up by the Chargers at the end of the game. They’re rostered in 20.2% of ESPN leagues, so, while still widely available, there is a higher likelihood they are already taken than the other two options above.
Other Options: Titans D/ST vs JAX (22.2% rostered), Rams D/ST @ PHI (13.2% rostered)
