NOTE: This column has been updated to remove players from the three Thanksgiving games.
Each week of the NFL campaign, we sift through the deeper options at each position with an eye on identifying streaming fantasy options with favorable matchups for you to pick up and plug into your lineup.
As this final bye week is upon us and injuries mount, the need for replacement options remains. Here are players found on waiver wires in most ESPN leagues who can help fill those gaps in your roster.
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
The lack of passing usage for Jackson this past week in his starting debut against the Bengals was initially glaring, but this is also in the context of one of the most special rushing performances from a quarterback in league history. All that Jackson did was establish a record for rushing attempts by a quarterback in the Super Bowl era, per Elias. If Joe Flacco is still sidelined this week with his hip ailment, Jackson could feast on an Oakland defense yielding the most points per drive to opponents in the NFL. Stacking Jackson and his emergent tailback (see below) as a zone-read combo could be a fun strategy in deeper fantasy formats.
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
With at least two passing touchdowns in four straight games and with the best tape of his season coming against the Falcons in Week 10, Mayfield next meets a reeling Bengals defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season. The team's pivot to Freddie Kitchens at the helm of the offensive agenda has proven rewarding for nearly all involved, suggesting this positive trend for the league's top pick could prove lasting.
Running Back
Josh Adams, Philadelphia Eagles
An inclusion in last week's streaming column, Adams again earns the nod after he consumed a backfield-best 28 snaps, with Corey Clement well behind at just 14, in the drubbing at the hands of the Saints this past Sunday in the Superdome. The promising angle is that game flow didn't throw off Adams' ascent as the team's leading early-down rusher. Even while down big to the Saints, Adams earned 16 snaps on passing downs, again most of the team's backfield. The floor could be quite low here given we are still talking about 10 touches for Adams this past week, even amid a career-high snap rate, but the positive correlation between being a home favorite and rushing production remains influential enough to trust Adams in this divisional matchup with the Giants.
Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens
Like Adams, it's tough to tell if Edwards' uptick in usage this past week will prove enduring going forward. Unlike Adams, Edwards was afforded a heavy workload in his breakout game, with 17 rushes and an awesome rapport with Lamar Jackson on zone-read runs. Instead of trying to guess which change-of-pace back might emerge between, say, Mike Davis or Ito Smith, I'd rather take the bid on a potential featured role for Edwards. It also helps to consider this rich incoming matchup with Oakland, a defense that has allowed 5.16 yards per carry to tailbacks since Week 6.
Wide Receiver
Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals
Only Larry Fitzgerald is earning a higher target-per-route rate than Kirk among the team's top five in routes per game during the past month. This might be a complicated way of saying Kirk has become the clear No. 2 target in the Arizona passing offense. With just one truly poor statistical showing since Week 5, Kirk presents intriguing value as a spot-starter this week against the Chargers.
Tight End
We all know the pickings can get brutally slim at tight end, especially during this season influenced by some notable injuries at the position. Herndon has shown a steady enough usage pattern in recent weeks and flashed an especially strong scoring rapport with Sam Darnold to merit consideration as a strong streaming candidate this week. The matchup metrics agree, as the Patriots have ceded 16.1 fantasy points per game to tight ends since Week 6, fifth most in the league.
It's understandable that Herndon isn't rostered in many leagues, since the Jets just had their bye week, but Smith's lack of attention is more glaring. He's produced at least 11 fantasy points in three straight weeks using ESPN's PPR scoring key and sustained production even when Blaine Gabbert took over for an injured Marcus Mariota in Week 11. Per the upcoming divisional matchup, Houston has surrendered 14.1 fantasy points per game to tight ends this season, 10th most in the league.
Defense/Special Teams
Opposing passers have averaged just 5.66 yards per dropback facing the Bills' defense this season, the second-lowest rate in the NFL. Opposing passers are averaging only 6.99 air yards per target facing Buffalo, the fourth-lowest rate in the league. The inference for me here is that Buffalo has sound outside cornerback play, potentially curbing vertical attempts from opponents. The sample could be noisy, but it appears to me this Buffalo pass defense is legitimate and likely felled too often by a bad Bills offensive unit. All this said, there is enough upside present in facing Blake Bortles and a generally suspect game script from Jacksonville to merit streaming this group in Orchard Park on Sunday.
Individual Defensive Players
Linebacker
Tahir Whitehead, Oakland Raiders
Rostered in roughly 17 percent of ESPN leagues, Whitehead has been coming up sevens for several weeks now. Which is to say, the Raiders' middle linebacker has four straight games with exactly seven tackles. While the ceiling isn't so high -- he hasn't forced a turnover or produced a sack yet -- Whitehead's floor for tackles on a Raiders defense that has difficulty getting off the field is valuable. This premise proves even more accurate if Jackson is running zone-read all afternoon for the Ravens.
Defensive Back
Longtime IDP players fondly remember McDonald's awesome second season in St. Louis that saw him tally 105 tackles, with a rewarding 84 of them of the solo variety. While he hasn't topped 62 tackles in a season since, he's up to 57 entering Week 12 for Miami and pacing for 91 on the season, signaling a revival is underway. Available in nearly every ESPN league, McDonald joined linebacker Kiko Alonso as the only Dolphins defenders to play on all 57 defensive snaps in Week 10. McDonald is now seemingly the team's every-down safety in place of Reshad Jones, which makes him a sound streaming target for this matchup with the up-tempo Colts.