DL Streaming 101: Week 16
Professor IDP looks at the best DE and DT streaming options for to help you continue your fantasy playoff run.
Welcome to the Week 16 edition of DL Streaming 101!
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Given we are in crunch time, I’ll largely save the analysis of past weeks and the season for a year-end article, but here are some quick hitters:
DL Streaming Average (Big 3 Scoring): 9.1 (season), 7.1 (Week 15)
Average by Tier: 🎓🎓🎓🎓 = 13.8, 🎓🎓🎓 = 8.9, 🎓🎓 = 8.2
Hit Rates: Players over 10 = 37%, Players over 20 = 10.2%
The full list of 32 streaming options for this week (with underlying data) is presented below for your consideration. This week’s highlight players are for the true degenerates out there, featuring two edges and two tackles who are available in over 98% of IDP leagues on MyFantasyLeague.
Featured DL Streamers
Jacob Martin, DE, WAS (🎓🎓🎓)
Jacob (Jake) Martin of the Washington Commanders has had an up-and-down streaming season. He has been featured five times, scoring 24.9, 1.5, 13.1, 1.25, and 5.5 in those weeks. Week 16 has several signs that he could be in store for another double-digit week.
Martin has a good, but not great, matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16. Over the past two weeks, the Eagles have allowed three viable games to opposing edge rushers (11.75 to Khalil Mack and 15.4 to Odafe Oweh in Week 14 and 14.9 to Maxx Crosby in a blowout Week 15). The optimism comes from Martin’s usage (over 70% in four of his last five games) and performance. In terms of performance, he has generated at least three quarterback pressures in each of his last four games and tied a season high with seven last week against the Giants. Martin is a great play if you are an underdog this week, given his significant upside.
Thomas Booker IV, DT, LV (🎓🎓🎓)
Thomas Booker now makes the third interior defender for the Las Vegas Raiders to be featured this season, joining teammates Adam Butler and Jonah Laulu. Of these three players, Booker is my choice to stream in Week 16 against a Houston Texans team that has given up the second-most fantasy points to opposing defensive tackles over the past three weeks at an average of 33.07.
On the season, Laulu leads the interior of the Las Vegas defense with 21 QB pressures. Booker is only one pressure behind this mark despite almost 100 fewer pass-rush snaps. His PFF pass rush grade is the highest of the group at a modest 64.3, but it has broken 70 in three of his past five games. Despite a poor overall run defense grade (37.6), Booker has notched at least three combined tackles in four of his last five and has not recorded a missed tackle since Week 7. This kind of moderate floor and ceiling makes Booker an interesting DL streaming option, particularly in DT-required leagues.
Marcus Davenport, DE, DET (🎓🎓)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… I know many of us have been burned (repeatedly) by Marcus Davenport of the Detroit Lions. I can almost feel three sets of eyes rolling right now in Bowling Green as I include his name in this article, but hear me out.
While Davenport will likely never live up to the draft capital the Saints spent on him in 2018, he is worth at least considering in Week 16. Since returning from injury in Week 13, the Lions have been ramping up Davenport’s snaps from 38% all the way to 78% in Week 15. Against the Cowboys and Rams over the past two weeks, Davenport has generated four pressures and two hits. The Cowboys are the 20th-worst fantasy matchup for opposing edges, while the Rams are the toughest in the league.
The Lions take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16, who are positioned between these two previous opponents in fantasy, where Davenport will presumably draw Dylan Cook, who played great against the Dolphins, but will be starting only the second game of his three-year career.
DaQuan Jones, DT, BUF (🎓🎓)
Buffalo Bills’ defensive tackle DaQuan Jones has been on the outside looking in of six or seven streaming articles this season, and Week 16 is when he is finally getting his due. While Jones is not a 1-to-1 replacement for Ed Oliver, he has only had two real stinkers in the past five weeks while also flashing some upside.
With a meager 66.8 fantasy points on the season, Jones is far from the safest DL play of the week. The Bills take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 16, who, despite being a tough season-long matchup, have averaged 43.88 points allowed to interior defenders over the past two weeks. Jones has the talent to exploit this matchup as his 74.1 PFF pass rush grade ranks 14th among the 85 interior defenders who have played significant snaps this season.
Good luck, and if you have any questions about deep DL plays, my office is always open by replying to this article or reaching out on Twitter (@ProfessorIDP).
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What about Clowney against the chargers?