We escaped Week 7 without too many major injuries. The Philadelphia Eagles, however, weren’t quite as lucky. They were already down plenty of skill players and lost a couple more, but at least neither was season-ending. Each week this column will analyze a player at each position rostered in 50 percent of Yahoo leagues or less. This group of players is basically a dream stream team. For reference, the threshold used for wins and losses in this article will be if the quarterbacks can score 15 plus points and if the rest can score 10 plus PPR points. Here is the Week 8 stream team.
Week 8 Stream Team: Jimmy Garoppolo, Sterling Shepard, and More
Week 7 Recap
Quarterback
- Teddy Bridgewater (CAR) @ NO – 19.16 points – W
- Andy Dalton (DAL) @ WAS – 3.60 points – L
- Kyle Allen (WAS) v DAL – 16.86 points – W
- Totals – Week: 2-1 / Year: 13-9
Running Back
- Boston Scott (PHI) v NYG – 18.20 points – W
- Giovanni Bernard (CIN) v CLE – 20.60 points – W
- J.D. McKissic (WAS) v DAL – 7.10 points – L
- Totals – Week: 2-1 / Year: 8-11-2
Wide Receiver
- Travis Fulgham (PHI) v NYG – 12.30 points – W
- Keelan Cole (JAX) @ LAC – 2.20 points – L
- Tre’Quan Smith (NO) v CAR – 9.40 points – L
- Totals – Week: 1-2 / Year: 7-14
Tight End
- Darren Fells (HOU) v GB – 0 points – L
- Eric Ebron (PIT) @ TEN – 11.00 points – W
- Logan Thomas (WAS) v DAL – 16.00 points – W
- Totals – Week: 2-1 / Year: 5-15-1
- Grand Totals – Week: 7-5 / Year: 33-48-3
Week 8 Stream Team
Quarterback – Jimmy Garoppolo (SF – 32 percent) at SEA
Garoppolo is maddening as a fantasy quarterback. There will be times when he explodes for 30+ fantasy points. There will be times when he posts single-digit fantasy points. Predicting when those great weeks will come is the hard part with Jimmy G. He’s so game script dependent as San Francisco likes to pound the rock on the ground once they grab a lead and that limits his potential. This doesn’t seem like a week they’ll be able to do so. They are traveling to Seattle to face MVP favorite, Russell Wilson, and the Seattle Seahawks. This should be a matchup that Garoppolo needs to throw more than usual to keep up and the Seahawks secondary has given up a lot this year. Don’t be afraid to fire up Jimmy G if you’re in need of a streamer at the quarterback position this week.
Honorable Mentions – Teddy Bridgewater (CAR – 47 percent) v ATL, Kirk Cousins (MIN – 29 percent) @ GB
Jimmy Garoppolo used play action on 16 of 26 dropbacks (61.5%, the 2nd-highest rate in a game over the last 5 seasons).
Garoppolo completed 14/15 passes using play action, with 92% of his yards coming after the catch.#SFvsNE | Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/u7nWqpWk62
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 25, 2020
Running Back – Carlos Hyde (SEA – 16 percent) v SF
It’s 2020 and Carlos Hyde is still a part of our fantasy football lives. This guy just doesn’t go away. It’s a testament to Hyde in that he’s able to continue to be a consistently solid player. Last week, Chris Carson left with a foot injury. Hyde took over the lead role in the second quarter and ran the ball 15 times for 68 yards and a touchdown and he also chipped in three receptions for another eight yards. This was good for 16.6 PPR points against Arizona. This week the matchup isn’t great against San Francisco, but it’s hard to turn away from a guy that is likely to see 15-20 touches. That kind of volume is too valuable. Hyde is dealing with a bit of a hamstring issue himself so should he sit out as well; DeeJay Dallas would become a recommended option in this spot.
Honorable Mentions – Joshua Kelley (LAC – 43 percent) @ DEN, Zack Moss (BUF – 46 percent) v NE
Wide Receiver – Sterling Shepard (NYG – 31 percent) v TB
Shepard played in his first game since a Week 2 matchup against the Chicago Bears when he returned this past weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles. He returned in style dropping 17.9 PPR points on Philadelphia by grabbing six balls on eight targets for 59 yards and a score. It was an extremely promising return to inspire confidence that he’s fully healthy again. This has been a banged-up Giants team once again, so having a playmaker like Shepard back is surely a welcome sight. He should be able to continue seeing a healthy target share in this offense moving forward. This week is a matchup against a tough Bucs defense. A silver lining could be if lockdown corner Carlton Davis spends most of his time shadowing Darius Slayton. That could allow Shepard to see an extra target boost this week which should bode well if you’re in a spot where you need to start him this week.
Honorable Mentions – Greg Ward (PHI – 7 percent) v DAL, Nelson Agholor (LV – 11 percent) @ CLE
Sterling Shepard's (toe) return last night:
* 46-of-60 snaps
* 31 routes on 34 Danny Dimes dropbacks
* 38 snaps wide, 8 slot
* 8 targets for a 26.6% share— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 23, 2020
Tight End – Richard Rodgers (PHI – 16 percent) v DAL
Finally, there’s a tight end option that I can actually feel somewhat good about recommending in this spot. The Eagles were hoping for a healthier 2020 than they had in 2019 but it’s just not coming to fruition. Philadelphia is now dealing with injuries to Miles Sanders, Jalen Reagor, DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, and Dallas Goedert and that’s just among their main playmakers. This has forced many others to step up in the meantime and Rodgers was a big part of that last week. He saw eight targets and turned that into six receptions for 85 yards against the Giants. This week he’ll be one of the main targets once again and the matchup is as juicy as it gets against the hapless Dallas Cowboys. Rodgers should be a nice option this week at the tight end position if you’re in a pinch.
Honorable Mentions – Irv Smith Jr. (MIN – 7 percent) @ GB, Trey Burton (IND – 21 percent) @ DET
