The best fantasy QB options to stream for Week 7

A combination of key injuries and bye weeks will force a number of fantasy owners to bench their premier quarterbacks in exchange for a stream option in Week 7.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6, sending a slew of fantasy owners into damage control. Similarly, Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller Jameis Winston is dealing with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder, while Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (back) and Tennessee Titans' Marcus Mariota (hamstring) will continue to tend to lingering injuries.

Fueling the streaming fire, Houston Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson and Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford will both ride the pine in Week 7 due to bye weeks.

The good news is that, even with 19 quarterbacks currently owned in more than half of ESPN leagues, viable streaming options remain, and we’re here to help sort out the best ones.

As always, before we get into Week 6 let’s look at how things played out for last week’s recommended QB streaming options.

Notes: Kirk Cousins was the top-scoring quarterback in Week 6 with 29 fantasy points (and his 0.74 points per dropback were the second-most)… Trevor Siemian suffered a shoulder injury and was without Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders for chunks of Sunday’s game. Still, his 376-yard passing effort was hardly indicative of just how much he underperformed in an inviting home matchup, as he posted the fourth-worst PFF passing grade… Carson Palmer led the position with 0.92 fantasy points per dropback in Week 6, with an average depth of target of 11.4 yards. With the Cardinals’ offensive line the league’s worst in pass protection, Palmer took matters into his own hands when under pressure, completing 5-of-7 passes for 106 yards with two touchdowns and an interception… Josh McCown completed 31-of-43 aimed passes (72.1 percent) for 354 yards and a pair of TDs, becoming the latest quarterback to light up the Patriots.

Below are the most attractive options for QB streaming for Week 7 who are either widely available, on your bench, or priced cheap in daily formats. Each player is listed along with current ownership and start percentages from ESPN leagues as well as FanDuel salary rank.

Week 7

Shallow leagues (8-10 teams)

Kirk Cousins (WAS @ PHI) – 91.3% owned/61.2% started/No. 13 QB salary on FanDuel

Those who started Cousins in Week 6 will want to go back to the well against Philadelphia. With the Eagles boasting PFF’s top-graded pass rush, opposing offenses have made a point to get the ball out quick and attack the much weaker secondary. Only the Patriots have allowed more passing yards than Philadelphia this season. Starting CBs Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas both rank in the bottom-20 (out of 71 qualifiers) in yards allowed per snap in coverage, while Malcolm Jenkins is 51st out of 58 safeties.

As for that Philadelphia pass rush, Washington counters with an offensive line that has allowed only four sacks, third-fewest in the league. Cousins may have started out a bit slow this season – as he’s been wont to do – but he now trails only Deshaun Watson in fantasy points per dropback (0.59). The Redskins may have let off the gas a bit after jumping out to an early 17-point lead against San Francisco, although that kind of game script isn’t likely to be repeated here against the 5-1 Eagles. What’s more, Cousins has averaged 303 yards and two scores in six career games against Philly.

Carson Wentz (PHI vs. WAS) – 80.4%/38.0%/No. 9 salary

Sticking with the same matchup, the Eagles opened with a healthy Las Vegas implied game total of 27 points. Wentz has taken a leap forward in Year 2, ranking seventh in PFF QB grade as we near the halfway point. Fantasy’s No. 4 QB through six games, Wentz has become more accurate on deep passes (20-plus yards downfield), sporting a 108.1 passer rating after posting only a 64.2 rating on deep throws as a rookie. He also had a league-worst 32.8 QB rating under pressure last season, and that number is up to a 59.9 rating, albeit still with room for improvement.

His supporting cast is also improved, with Nelson Agholor among the league’s most effective slot receivers, Zach Ertz the top-scoring fantasy tight end, and Alshon Jeffery drawing coverage. With 10 days between games, the Eagles also hope to get RT Lane Johnson (concussion) back to PFF’s No. 4 OL in terms of pass-blocking efficiency. If you’re looking for a cherry on top, the Redskins could be without both starting corners.

Standard leagues (10-12 teams)

Derek Carr (OAK @ KC) – 80.9%/27.8%/No. 19 salary

My, how Carr’s stock has fallen. All the way down to the No. 28 fantasy QB on the season, there admittedly aren’t many (any?) passing metrics to make you feel warm and fuzzy about streaming him this week. But that’s OK, let’s hone in on the matchup. Prior to facing a fading Ben Roethlisberger at home on Sunday, the Chiefs had given up 20-plus fantasy points to three of the four previous QBs they faced. Kansas City also owns PFF’s second-worst pass-rush grade, whereas Oakland’s O-line has the top pass-blocking efficiency rating (87.2) with the fewest pressures (30), hurries (19), and hits (0) allowed. On the back end, the Chiefs have given up the fifth-most passing yards along with 10 scores through the air.

As for Carr, the injured back is a concern. But we’re also talking about a five-game sample size far below the level of play that has sent him to the last two Pro Bowls. Sure, it’s a bit of a hunch, but this lines up as a get-right spot for Carr (and Amari Cooper). Recency bias also makes the Raiders passing game an interesting DFS tournament pivot.

Tyrod Taylor (BUF vs. TB) – 39.8%/No. 20 salary

While his weekly ceiling is limited, few streaming options come with Taylor’s high floor. Since the start of 2015, Taylor has averaged just under 40 rushing yards – or, four fantasy points – per game. He’s also averaged five rushing scores over the last two seasons but has none so far in 2017 despite averaging eight rushes over his first four games. In other words, he’s due for some positive regression in that category.

The Bills are coming off a bye and set to host a struggling Tampa Bay defense. The Bucs have yielded the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season, and only New England has given up more yards per game through the air (309). Taylor should have ample time to operate behind the Bills’ No. 7-rated OL in pass-blocking efficiency. He could also get back a sorely needed perimeter target in Jordan Matthews (thumb), who is reportedly day-to-day and has a chance to suit up this week.

Two-QB and deep leagues

Blake Bortles (JAX @ IND) – 7.0%/2.6%/No. 18 salary

It’s easy to forget that as disappointing as Bortles has often been in real life, he did finish as fantasy’s No. 9 QB just last season and was the No. 4 QB in 2015. Take a closer look, and Bortles has made a few subtle strides in recent weeks, even if the bottom-line results don’t quite show it. Since Week 3, he boasts an 89.3 QB rating under pressure (seventh-best) despite being pressured at the fourth-most frequent rate in that span (42.0 percent of dropbacks). Yes, the Jaguars have become a run-first team behind Leonard Fournette. However, that has also presented some big-play opportunities, evidenced by the fact that four of Bortles’ eight TDs this season have come on play-action.

Through Sunday’s games, only the Patriots had ceded more fantasy points per game to opposing QBs than the Colts (20.8), who are allowing 308 YPG through the air. Indianapolis will also be coming off a short week after giving up 306 yards to a hobbled Marcus Mariota.

Josh McCown (NYJ @ MIA) – 10.3%/7.6%/No. 22 salary

Coming off his best performance of the season (and second straight multi-score game), McCown sets his sights on the Miami Dolphins and their fifth-worst PFF pass coverage grade. McCown staked the Jets a 14-0 lead against New England with a couple of first-half touchdown passes (and I won’t even get into the would-be third touchdown to Austin Seferian-Jenkins that wound up being overturned). Despite a pair of interceptions, McCown finished with 354 passing yards and was a top-five fantasy QB on Sunday.

Granted, that came against the Patriots and their overly generous defense. Still, he has a budding red-zone rapport with tight end Seferian-Jenkins, who has hauled in 14-of-18 targets with three two touchdowns over the last two weeks. On the season, McCown owns the league’s fourth-best adjusted completion percentage (79.2), which accounts for drops, throwaways, batted balls and the like. He also ranks sixth in deep ball accuracy, with a 102.4 passer rating on throws that traveled 20-plus air yards.