Fantasy football streaming pickups Week 9: Sam Howell

Each week throughout the NFL regular season, we will discuss the top fantasy football streaming options. These are deeper-league targets who have shown viable production or fit as a matchup-dependent play to give you a boost in the lineup this week.

Players listed below are rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues. Although you might notice overlap with Eric Moody’s waiver wire column that publishes Mondays, an important distinction is that the options mentioned in this column are focused solely on this week’s matchup and not on the players’ values for the remainder of the season.

With four teams on a bye this week — Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos — and with injuries to quarterbacks mounting, I’m starting with two QBs you can slot into your lineups. Plus, we’ll look at four receivers with potential WR3/flex upside, a selection of running backs and a defense that is heating up the pocket with pressure.

All references to fantasy points are for PPR leagues.

Quarterbacks

Sam Howell, Washington Commanders (30.3% rostered; at Patriots)

Howell’s 30.8 fantasy points led all quarterbacks in Week 8, and he’s logged at least 15 points in six of eight games played this season. Yes, Howell can be a very streaky thrower, and he’s posted at least one interception in five games. However, NFL defenses have to respect his arm talent and his 4.6 speed. With Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kirk Cousins not playing this week due to byes or injury, I’ll take Howell, and his aggressive mentality, to produce versus the Patriots.