Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
In fantasy football, streaming defenses and kickers week in and week out is a common practice in most leagues. In terms of picking up players on the waiver wire, team defense and kickers are the easiest to pick and are usually accompanied by the lowest risk. Running backs, wide receivers and tight ends are too valuable and much more difficult to predict on a week-to-week basis to be considered candidates for streaming. What about the idea of streaming the quarterback position in a one-quarterback league? Is it really as crazy an idea as it sounds?
Depending on the way owners keep score in their leagues, most would be happy with quarterbacks putting up 15-20 fantasy points per game. If you think of the scenario where you would spend the entire season streaming quarterbacks, chances are you would probably have a high to mid-round pick available to buff up your skill positions. Therefore, the 15-20 fantasy points coming from your quarterback would be feasible.
According to NFL.com in the 2013 NFL season, only Drew Brees and Peyton Manning scored more than 300 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues, so they are exempt from the scenario. They would be the only two quarterbacks who would be worth a draft pick. Quarterbacks like Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger, Phillip Rivers and Jay Cutler/Josh McCown would have been perfect examples in the 2013 season. However, they may not be available, so the idea would be to choose which quarterbacks available on the waiver wire week-to-week have the best matchups.
Many fantasy owners may not like the idea; it may be viewed as an unnecessary headache for owners who already have many agonizing decisions to make throughout the season. The NFL has developed into a pure passing league over the past few seasons, and the emergence of the dual-threat quarterback has led to more depth at the quarterback position than ever before. This strategy could help owners realign their draft boards heading into next season, and the extra emphasis on drafting skill position players may help fantasy owners dominate their fantasy leagues next season.
Alexander Muir is a writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @AmuirAlex, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on your network on Google.
