Week 4 Fantasy Football Quarterback Streaming: Picking on the Lions

Quarterback streaming isn't for everyone, but if you're in a standard league -- like a 10- or 12-team league that features just one starting signal caller each week -- grabbing productive quarterbacks who have good matchups off the waiver wire is often doable.

Sure, you won't have the luxury of setting it and forgetting it with Drew Brees as your quarterback, but when the top-end signal callers draw a tough matchup, their upside can be matched by a waiver-wire option in a more favorable situation.

If you're looking for some options from the waiver wire -- regardless of league size -- then we have you covered.

We had another solid week in Week 3 as Ryan Tannehill, our top option, scored 18.96 points to finish the week as QB10. We also touched on Dak Prescott, who totaled 23.52 points to check in as QB6 for the week.

Through three weeks, our first-choice streaming option has scored a total of 55.16 points and been a single-week top-10 signal caller twice. The 55.16 points would be good enough for the overall QB10, in front of Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, and Russell Wilson and less than 4 points behind Andrew Luck.

Let's check out the streaming options for Week 4.

Brian Hoyer, Chicago Bears

ESPN Ownership: 1.5%

This is just a placeholder for whoever the Chicago Bears start at quarterback -- Hoyer or Jay Cutler -- in this week's home clash with the Detroit Lions.

Hoyer put up 18.38 points in a road loss at the Dallas Cowboys last week, and Detroit should be a much easier foe. The Lions rank dead last in Adjusted Defensive Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per play through three weeks, and Detroit has allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, surrendering an average of 24.2 points per game to opposing signal callers.

Yes, the Lions have faced Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers, but they also allowed 16.62 points to Marcus Mariota in a matchup at Ford Field. That's same Marcus Mariota who was stymied by the defense of the Oakland Raiders -- a unit our schedule-adjusted metrics rate as the third-worst pass defense -- in a 4.62-point effort in Week 3.

Chicago will be without Jeremy Langford, but they may not miss him much. Among the 34 running backs to see at least 25 carries this season, Langford ranks 29th in Rushing NEP per carry. The sample size is incredibly small for Jordan Howard, but he ranks a respectable 18th in Rushing NEP per play among running backs with at least 10 carries.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

ESPN Ownership: 23.8%

This is the third straight week Joe Flacco has made an appearance. After matchups against the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars, he gets a home meeting with the Raiders. As we just mentioned, the Raiders' defense played well in a Week 3 road win over the Tennessee Titans, but they still rank 29th in Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play.

In Week 2, Flacco had about as bad of a fantasy day (11.76 points) as a quarterback can have when they run for a score and complete 21 straight passes. While Flacco has yet to put up big numbers in either of his two previous superb matchups, he has a couple things going for him here that he didn't have on his side in the last two weeks.

One, this game is in Baltimore, and the Ravens are 3.5-point favorites with an implied total of 25. At home over his career, he's been a much better signal caller.

When you factor in that Baltimore is a favorite, that makes Flacco look even better. Over his career, he's scored 18.55 points per game when the Ravens were the favorite, compared to 15.91 points as an underdog.

Two, Flacco torched the Raiders last season, throwing for 384 yards and 2 scores.

He checks off a lot of the boxes this week, and he's a worthwhile streaming option.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

ESPN Ownership: 42.7%

Just like last week, Dak Prescott is a little higher owned than we typically cover. Also just like last week, he is still available in more than 55% of ESPN leagues, and he has a great matchup at the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers have actually played good run defense this season, slotting in ninth in Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP per play. That could make the Dallas Cowboys' attack a little more pass-heavy.

Prescott is coming off his best game of the season. He completed 19 of 24 passes for 248 yards and 1 score versus the Bears in Week 3, adding a rushing touchdown on a quarterback sneak. Dallas is a 3-point favorite with an implied total of 24.5, both numbers that put their quarterback in a good spot.