Two weeks into the season, injuries and disappointing performances have already sent plenty of fantasy managers searching for lineup help. Fortunately, streaming gives us a chance to adjust without marrying every player we add. Here are my favorite Week 3 fantasy football streamers at quarterback, tight end, kicker, and defense.
Rostered 33%
I guess we need to take Bryce Young seriously. The Bears and Falcons aren't exactly a murderer's row of defenses, but this looks like a different quarterback operating a different offense.
Young has thrown for 361 and 287 yards in his first two games, with three touchdowns in each. More importantly, the Panthers have let him attempt 73 passes. After spending last season avoiding the pass whenever possible, Carolina has become far more willing to throw, including when the score doesn't dictate it.
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Neither game has been particularly competitive, yet Young has delivered on both sides of a blowout. That matters. His production hasn't required the Panthers to spend an entire second half desperately trying to catch up.
Now, Young gets a Browns defense that surrendered four passing touchdowns to Trevor Lawrence in Week 1. I'm not particularly concerned about Cleveland limiting Baker Mayfield last week. There aren't many starting quarterbacks I'd take Mayfield over right now, and Young is playing substantially better football.
For now, Young remains a streamer. However, another big performance would make it difficult to keep treating him as merely a temporary solution. We may be watching a weekly QB1 emerge.
Rostered 3%
Drew Lock making a couple of spot starts for Sam Darnold isn't shocking. The surprising part is that we want to start him in fantasy.
In his first start of the season, Lock threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns on just 26 attempts. All three scores went to Jaxon Smith-Njigba , who might be the best wide receiver in football. Having someone that good on the receiving end certainly makes the assignment easier.
Still, Lock deserves credit for looking competent. Seattle doesn't need him to carry the offense, and its struggles running in short-yardage situations give the Seahawks reason to keep throwing near the end zone. We don't necessarily need 40 attempts if the scoring opportunities come through the air.
The matchup offers another reason for optimism. Washington just allowed Dak Prescott to throw for 279 yards and four touchdowns, and I don't see much reason to expect the Commanders to suddenly solve their defensive problems against Seattle.
With Marcus Mariota expected to start for Washington, the Seahawks should be in position to control this game. That could limit Lock's volume, but we just saw him deliver without a particularly busy afternoon.
If you lost Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels , Lock is a serviceable replacement. He isn't the quarterback you envisioned starting a few weeks ago, but that doesn't mean he can't get the job done.
As an obvious caveat, if Darnold returns, you cannot stream Lock. But Darnold is also rostered in well under 50% of leagues. A lot of what makes Lock a great streaming option applies to Darnold as well. In theory, Darnold should be better, albeit not as widely available.
Rostered 13%
New year. Same Bengals defense against tight ends.
Cincinnati allowed roughly 4.0 more PPR points per game to the position than the next-worst defense last season. That wasn't merely bad. It was the sort of gap that made checking the Bengals' opponent a weekly part of finding a streaming tight end.
So far, there's little reason to change that routine. Dalton Schultz just caught 12 passes for 140 yards against them. We don't need anything close to that from Pat Freiermuth to make this recommendation worthwhile.
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Freiermuth caught four passes for 32 yards last week. That won't win anyone a matchup, but it's a tolerable result when you're piecing together the position from the waiver wire.
Michael Pittman Jr.'s availability bears watching. Even if he plays, though, Freiermuth projects to be no worse than the third option in Pittsburgh's passing attack.
Aaron Rodgers played some of the worst football of his career last week, but this is a favorable spot to rebound. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense should give Pittsburgh a reason to keep throwing. Between the matchup and his place in the offense, Freiermuth is one of the more appealing tight end streamers available.
Rostered 30%
I don't love recommending T.J. Hockenson. Unfortunately, this is a difficult week for tight end streamers, and someone still has to fill that lineup spot.
Hockenson has caught just seven passes for 65 yards through two games. With Kyler Murray back this week, I'm not counting on a quarterback change to solve the production problem. If anything, I view Murray's return as a negative for Hockenson.
The reason to consider him is his involvement. Hockenson played 69% of the snaps last week and posted a 79% route participation rate. Those are perfectly reasonable numbers for a streaming tight end. At least we know he's getting opportunities to run routes.
Tampa Bay also provides a favorable matchup after allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends last season. Harold Fannin Jr. caught five passes for 54 yards against the Bucs last week. Give us a similar line from Hockenson, and we can leave satisfied.
There isn't much excitement here, but streaming tight ends often requires accepting that. Hockenson has enough playing time and a good enough matchup to be usable.
Rostered 28%
Once upon a time, Harrison Butker was universally rostered and a consensus top-three kicker just about every week. These days, he's available in most leagues. That makes him a streamer, at least for now.
Butker is coming off a strong Sunday night performance that included the game-winning field goal in overtime. He missed once but made his other four attempts. I'll gladly take five field goal opportunities from my kicker, even if one doesn't cooperate.
MORE: Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings Week 3: Evan McPherson Leads, Trey Smack Keeps Climbing
At this position, opportunity is what we're chasing. A kicker can't score from the sideline, and an offense that consistently reaches scoring range gives us more chances to accumulate points.
That shouldn't be a problem with the Chiefs visiting Miami . I view the Dolphins as the worst team in the league, and Kansas City should spend plenty of time threatening to score.
A touchdown-heavy afternoon could limit Butker's field goal attempts, but it would still provide extra points. Add a couple of stalled drives in scoring range, and double-digit fantasy points are well within reach. This is a good week to put a familiar name back in your lineup.
Rostered 1%
It shouldn't be surprising that the Panthers' kicker is almost universally available. This hasn't been an offense fantasy managers have associated with enough scoring opportunities to support a reliable kicker. However, we have to adjust when the information changes.
Carolina has scored 71 points through two games. The offense looks explosive and creative, and Young is playing well enough to sustain drives. Suddenly, the guy responsible for finishing some of those possessions deserves our attention.
Ryan Fitzgerald isn't without risk. He missed three extra points last season and has already missed another this year. Nevertheless, he's converted all three of his field goal attempts, and a 57-yard make last season demonstrated that he has enough leg to contribute from distance.
The Browns aren't a defense I expect to bring this offense crashing back to earth. Carolina should have opportunities to score, giving Fitzgerald a path to a productive afternoon even if he isn't the first name fantasy managers think to add.
At just 1% rostered, Fitzgerald should be available in almost any league. He's a sneaky option for managers willing to buy into what the Panthers are showing us.
Rostered 7%
It's wild that the Panthers are this lightly rostered when we knew they were facing Cooper Rush last week. Five turnovers, three sacks, three points allowed, and a touchdown later, anyone who started Carolina got the kind of performance that can swing an entire matchup.
However, let's not pretend this suddenly became a good defense. The Bears hung 59 points on this team in Week 1. Facing Rush tends to make a defense look considerably better than it is.
Fortunately, we don't need the Panthers to be good. We need them to exploit bad quarterback play, and Deshaun Watson provides another opportunity to do exactly that.
Watson was better in Week 2, but he still threw an interception and took five sacks. If that's the improved version, I'm perfectly comfortable starting the defense on the other side.
Any defense facing the Browns belongs in the streaming conversation. Carolina is no different. Don't expect another defensive touchdown and five turnovers, but there's plenty of room for a useful fantasy performance well below that ceiling.
Rostered 4%
Somehow, the Titans nearly beat the Eagles last week. I felt great about having Philadelphia stashed for that matchup, only to watch its defense thoroughly disappoint. Nevertheless, one frustrating result isn't going to talk me out of targeting Tennessee .
Cam Ward hasn't thrown an interception through two games and has taken just five sacks. He hasn't been a turnover machine, but he's also thrown just one touchdown pass. The Titans have scored 30 points across those two games. This still isn't an offense that should scare us.
The Giants aren't one of the league's better defenses. At home, though, I expect them to put Tennessee in a position where it has to throw more while chasing points.
Additional dropbacks create more opportunities for sacks and turnovers. Ward has avoided interceptions so far, but that doesn't make this a matchup we need to avoid. The Giants are a viable option for fantasy managers shopping among the defenses almost nobody has rostered.
This is a good week to need a streaming defense. The Chiefs get the team I view as the worst in the NFL, putting Kansas City firmly on the radar.
Of course, anyone who started the Chiefs against the Colts last week probably isn't eager to run it back. That performance was a reminder that this isn't a defense fantasy managers need to fear regardless of the opponent. Fortunately, Miami presents a considerably easier assignment.
We saw what Kansas City can do against a lesser offense in Week 1. The Chiefs held the Broncos to 10 points, sacked Bo Nix four times, and forced two turnovers. That's exactly the type of afternoon we're chasing when streaming a defense.
Malik Willis has taken nine sacks in two games. He's one of the more mobile quarterbacks in the league, but there is only so much scrambling can accomplish when his receivers can't get open. Eventually, the defense gets there.
I suspect sacks will remain a problem for Miami throughout the season. Kansas City should have plenty of opportunities to capitalize, making the Chiefs a strong Week 3 streaming option.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
