Fantasy Football Week 8 Streamers: QB, TE, Team Defense

Before digging into Week 8’s quarterback, tight end and team defense streamers, let’s see how Week 7’s streamers did (Yahoo! scoring, 0.5-point PPR).

Quarterback: Sam Howell-10.46 points
Tight End: Luke Musgrave-5 points
Team Defense: Cleveland Browns-16 points

After six teams were on a bye in Week 7, there are no teams on a bye in Week 8. Here are this week’s quarterback, tight end and team defense streamers for your fantasy football lineups.

Quarterback: Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts

Carr probably isn’t totally healthy, with a banged up throwing shoulder. He’s also not playing particularly well, based on the eye test. But he has topped 300 passing yards in back-to-back games, with over 15.5 fantasy points (Yahoo! scoring) in three straight games.

Week 8 brings a good matchup for Carr against the Indianapolis Colts, who are in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. They would be worse if not for facing P.J. Walker for most of Week 7. They allowed over 260 passing yards or multiple total touchdowns to every quarterback they faced from Week 1-6. Of that group, only Ryan Tannehill didn’t clear 15 fantasy points and four of them topped 17 fantasy points.

A little extra time to get healthier after playing Thursday night in Week 7 should help Carr. A lot of fantasy owners may not be worried about a quarterback streamer in a zero-team bye week, but the Saints’ signal caller stands atop the heap for Week 8.

ESPN Ownership: 18.4%
Yahoo! Ownership: 34%

Others to Consider: Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints; Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans; Mac Jones, New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins; Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers vs. Houston Texans; Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills (Thursday night); Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars;

Tight End: Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Detroit Lions (Monday night)

After what looked like a breakthrough game in Week 6 (five catches for 75 yards), Mayer had a dismal outing in Week 7 against the Chicago Bears (two catches for 13 yards). But such is life when Brian Hoyer and Aidan O’Connell are the Raiders’ quarterbacks, and hopefully Jimmy Garoppolo (back) is back in Week 8.

It’s obviously way better if Garoppolo is able to play, but Mayer’s matchup can’t be ignored in Week 8. The Detroit Lions are allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season. Mark Andrews had a big game against them in Week 7 (two touchdowns), but other than that they have not exactly faced a robust list of tight ends (remember they did not face Travis Kelce in Week 1).

If Garoppolo plays, Mayer has nice upside in Week 8. And even if he doesn’t, the rookie tight end should be running open enough to easily draw targets from Hoyer or O’Connell. The range of outcomes is wide here, but I can’t turn away from Mayer’s matchup and a likely negative game script for the Raiders in Week 8.

ESPN Ownership: 9.4%
Yahoo! Ownership: 27%

Others To Consider: Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Thursday night); Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders vs. Philadelphia Eagles; Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams; Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers (check availability); Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts

Team Defense: New York Jets at New York Giants

The Jets may have been dropped in a lot of leagues due to their Week 7 bye, since carrying two defenses for a week is a level of taboo for some fantasy football owners. But they’re back in Week 8, with a matchup that’s as good as it gets.

The New York Giants have scored 14 or fewer points in six of seven games this season (10 or fewer four times), and outside of a 31-point second half explosion in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals they have been outright inept offensively. Their quarterbacks have also been sacked at least three times in six of seven games. Tyrod Taylor has played ok in place of an injured Daniel Jones the last couple games, but it has not yielded better results.

A likely very low-scoring game on Sunday puts both New York defenses in play as fantasy streamers. But I’m going with the “road” team as my top streamer for Week 8, and they are available enough to qualify. If the Jets are not available in your league, take a look at the “others to consider” below.

ESPN Ownership: 52%
Yahoo! Ownership: 63%

Others To Consider: Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots (check availability); Los Angeles Chargers vs. Chicago Bears (Sunday night); Detroit Lions vs. Las Vegas Raiders (Monday night); Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans; Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers; Tennessee Titans vs. Atlanta Falcons; New York Giants vs. New York Jets; Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

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