This is it. Championship week is here. If you made it this far, you must do everything in your power if you want to finish the year with a new fantasy title on your trophy shelf. It doesn’t matter which players carried you all the way to this point. It’s time to make sure you have the best men in your lineup for THIS specific week. This is when streaming can play an important role, and that’s the whole purpose of this weekly article.
The following lines will highlight some streaming options for the QB, K, D/ST, and TE positions to help you squeeze as many points as possible from them this very important week. If you need further help defining your lineup, don’t forget to check Andy, Mike, and Jason’s weekly rankings and upload your team to the Ultimate Dashboard to get spot-start suggestions for your specific roster.
Let’s take a final dive into the streaming pool.
Quarterbacks
Anthony Richardson – Indianapolis Colts (58% rostered)
It might feel weird to place your trust in Anthony Richardson for championship week, but if you’re reading this section of the article, it means you’re not so convinced by your current starting QB. Richardson’s rushing upside is crazy. Last week, he only completed seven passes for 131 yards and a TD, but he compensated this line with nine valuable rushes for 70 yards and another score. Even with Jonathan Taylor balling out, there’s enough margin for Richardson to run and be a good fantasy QB, especially in matchups as favorable as the one he has this week against the New York Giants, who have allowed over 18 fantasy points on average to QBs this season.
Caleb Williams – Chicago Bears (63% rostered)
It’s been a bittersweet season for the Bears, but Caleb Williams seems to have a brighter future than their previous attempts at a franchise quarterback. Last week, he threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns against the Detroit Lions, and he’s also been adding some interesting rushing numbers. This week, he’ll play against the Seattle Seahawks, who have been recently involved in some high-scoring games. If you’re not sure about your QB for this week, take a look at the waiver wire and see if Caleb Williams is available.
Bryce Young – Carolina Panthers (14% rostered)
Yes, I know. Who wants to read “Bryce Young” as a viable streamer during championship week? But we have to give this guy some credit. He has been much better lately than what we saw from him at the beginning of the season. Last week, he completed 17 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 68 yards and an additional TD. And this week, he has one of the best matchups for any QB: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs’ secondary has been terrible all season, and they’ve already allowed Bryce Young to score over 23 fantasy points in Week 13. I don’t know how many of you would dare to start Bryce Young this week, but he is not a terrible option.
Kickers
Joshua Karty – Los Angeles Rams (6% rostered)
The Rams-Cardinals game has the week’s third-highest Vegas line. Despite his misses, Joshua Karty has been good enough for fantasy thanks to the considerable amount of opportunities provided to him by the Rams’ offense. He’s had some hiccups on extra points, but he has somehow not missed a field goal since Week 12. If you need a widely available kicker for this championship week, Karty should be a decent streamer.
Wil Lutz – Denver Broncos (19% rostered)
It’s been over a year since the last time Wil Lutz appeared on this streaming article. But the Broncos’ offense has been progressively good this season, and this week they’ll face the Bengals’ non-existent secondary in what Vegas projects to be the highest-scoring game of the week. Lutz hasn’t missed a kick attempt since Week 10, and he should have plenty of chances to score some fantasy points for your team this week.
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Chad Ryland/Matt Prater – Arizona Cardinals (7% / 0% rostered)
It’s still unclear who will be the Cardinals’ kicker this week against the Rams. Matt Prater might come back from injury reserve, but if he doesn’t, Chad Ryland might be a very serviceable streaming option. He has nailed three field goal attempts and three PATs in each of his past two games. This divisional matchup should see a lot of points on both sides of the ball, so whoever the Cardinals decide to start should be a fine streaming kicker.
Defense & Special Teams
Las Vegas Raiders (9% rostered)
The Raiders are a bad team right now. They are so bad they even lost the first overall pick last week by beating the Jaguars. But their defense and special teams have been serviceable for fantasy in recent weeks, and this Sunday they will play against the New Orleans Saints, who are playing with backups in almost every offensive position. This past Monday, they weren’t able to score a single point against the Packers. If you want a solid floor for your D/ST this week, the Raiders are not a bad option.
Miami Dolphins (33% rostered)
It’s great when such an available defense gets such a good matchup in such an important week. The Dolphins have been improving their defensive game lately, and this week they’ll play in what’s expected to be the lowest-scoring game of the week against the Browns’ hideous offensive line and third-stringer QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Last week, he threw two picks and got sacked five times by the Bengals. There might not be a better matchup for opposing D/STs right now.
Jacksonville Jaguars (10% rostered)
The Titans somehow scored 30 points last week against the Colts, but that was definitely an outlier game. Tennessee has allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing D/ST this season, and this week’s divisional clash between them and the Jaguars is projected to be a huge snoozefest, with a 41 expected point total, the second-lowest one of the week.
BONUS: Tight End
Chigoziem Okonkwo – Tennessee Titans (8% rostered)
Andy Holloway warned us about Chig last week. He was in an ideal spot for having a brilliant game against the Colts and he delivered, catching nine passes for 81 yards and a two-point conversion. He had an 83% route participation and a 29% target share. It’s clear he is a focal point of this offense for the time being, and this week he’ll play against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have allowed over 10 fantasy points per game to tight ends this season. Chig Okonkwo should be one of the most reliable tight ends this week, at least volume-wise.
