Another NFL season is upon us, and it will be one like we’ve never seen before with the COVID-19 pandemic. But I’m back again with my weekly fantasy streamers, to help managers exploit favorable matchups.
Here are my quarterback, tight end and team defense streamers for Week 1.
Quarterback: Tyrod Taylor, Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals
Taylor is the Chargers’ starting quarterback to start the season, and likely for as long as their winning games to keep rookie Justin Herbert on the bench. In his three seasons as the Buffalo Bills’ starting quarterback, Taylor finished as QB14 (2015), QB8 (2016) and QB16 (2017) in fantasy. By fantasy points per game he was a top-10 quarterback in 2015 and 2016. A soft early schedule starts with a nice matchup in Week 1.
The Cincinnati Bengals allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks last year, and the most rushing yards to the position (facing Lamar Jackson twice helps the latter stat, but it’s still notable).
Nobody allowed more rushing yards to opposing QBs than the Bengals last season pic.twitter.com/bwVdAIfzWs
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 7, 2020
The Bengals made an effort to bolster their defense this offseason. But their top free agent signing, cornerback Trae Waynes, is likely to miss the entire season after suffering a torn pec.
Even likely without wide receiver Mike Williams, Taylor has plenty of weapons around him to burn the Bengals’ defense. Sprinkle in rushing yardage, and you’ve got a possible top-10 quarterback for the week with a high floor and a high ceiling. Taylor is the easy No. 1 quarterback streamer for Week 1.
Yahoo! Ownership: 8%
ESPN Ownership: 3.5%
Others To Consider: Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals; Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots; Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers vs. Las Vegas Raiders; Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders at Carolina Panthers (check ownership); Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts; Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars; Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
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Tight End: Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles at Washington
Any way you slice it, standard scoring, half PPR or full PPR, Goedert was a top-10 fantasy tight end in 2019. An Eagles’ wide receiver group that was injury-ravaged pushed him into a bigger role (53 receptions for 564 yards and four touchdowns from Week 6 on, TE8 in full PPR while Zach Ertz was TE3 over that span).
The Eagles will be without wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Jalen Reagor in Week 1 against Washington. Washington was a bottom-five defense against tight ends last year, and Goedert had five catches for 55 yards against them in Week 15.
Goedert should have been drafted in all leagues with more than 10 teams. Yet he’s available in nearly half of Yahoo! leagues, and nearly 75 percent of ESPN leagues. His target share may go down as the Eagles get healthier at wide receiver, but Goedert is a solid pure waiver wire add this week and a convenient tight end streamer for Week 1.
Yahoo! Ownership: 57%
ESPN Ownership: 26.8%
Others To Consider: Jordan Akins, Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs (Thursday night); Chris Herndon, New York Jets at Buffalo Bills; Ian Thomas, Carolina Panthers vs. Las Vegas Raiders (check injury status); Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
Team Defense: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington
The Eagles have a formidable pass rush, and they addressed their need for a shutdown corner by trading for Darius Slay this offseason. A season opening matchup against Washington looks promising.
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins should be better in his second season. But he still lacks a broad set of weapons, and the offensive line is still in line to be a lower-end unit overall this year. Adrian Peterson is what he is at this stage of his career, a 35-year old one-trick pony running back, but releasing him was not helpful to the talent level of Washington’s offense.
A few sacks, a turnover or two and less than 20 points allowed feel like slam dunks for the Eagles’ defense this week. Even stretching the ownership boundaries to be considered a streamer, this unit is lined up to deliver in Week 1.
Yahoo! Ownership: 64%
ESPN Ownership: 40.4%
Others To Consider: Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears; Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals; Denver Broncos vs. Tennessee Titans (Monday night); Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans (Thursday night)
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