It’s a tough week for streaming defensive linemen, so here’s your speculative play for the week. Bear with me on this logic: no one in their right mind wants to run toward the side that J.J. Watt is on. Right? Jared Crick has made a career out of being “the other guy” on the Houston Texans’ defensive line, and last week it earned him a solid 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed for 4 fantasy points.

In a week where there are no premier matchups for underowned DL-eligible guys, Crick is a solid option due to going up against a Carolina Panthers team in Week 2 that has renewed their commitment to the read-option run. The Panthers rushed the ball 35 times in Week 1, and 8 of those were quarterback rushes. Their ugly offensive line held up for the most part, only allowing two sacks, but they did give up four tackles for a loss as well. With this much penetration happening against the Carolina offense, Crick is not the worst option for a team in need of a big-play DL boost.

Crick is available in 98.0% of ESPN IDP leagues, and we project him for around 3.5 tackles, and a total score of 5.05 balanced fantasy points in Week 2.