With four teams on their bye week, fantasy managers are looking for streaming options at all positions. As usual, we've seen an avalanche of injuries this season, which has only further pushed the importance of streamers on a weekly basis. Let's go position by position and find some players who are available this week.
(*Streamers are players who are rostered in 50% or fewer of Yahoo leagues.)
Here are 10 players to target:
Quarterback
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
We target the Dallas Cowboys in fantasy football; it's that simple. We have a big 54.5-point over/under, and the Cowboys allow the sixth-most (19.7) fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Brissett is QB15 this season, and comes in with four games with at least 16 fantasy points, which can be done with the duo of Trey McBride
and Michael Wilson catching passes and shredding the Cowboys' defense.
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
With some up-and-down performances, I can see why Darnold isn't heavily rostered in fantasy football. The lack of rushing upside and the interceptions aren't great to see, but this is a great matchup against the Bears. At 19.3 fantasy points allowed per game, the Bears' defense has been a consistent target through the first portion of the season. He's only hit 20 fantasy points one time this season, but with this type of matchup and a 24.75 implied team total, I'll roll with Darnold one more time.
Running back
Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals' backfield continues to be a bit of a mess, but as a low-end RB2 or flex option, Bam Knight is viable. He saw 10 total touches last week, with three of them being receptions, which is some sneaky PPR upside. Jeremiyah Love is still questionable, Tyler Allgeier has no pop running the ball, and it leaves Bam Knight as the benefactor. Dallas allows the eighth-most (25.2) PPR points per game to running backs, putting Knight in a clear plus matchup.
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
Sampson returned from IR last week, and immediately played on 46% of the snaps and saw nine total touches for 10.70 PPR points. He's the clear passing-down back for the Browns, which actually puts him in a great spot since the Steelers have allowed the third-most (289) receiving yards to opposing running backs. There's passing game work available for him, putting him in the streamer conversation this week.
Wide receiver
Kennan Allen, Indianapolis Colts
I'm going to break the sub-50% rostered rule with Kennan Allen since he's at 52%. The Colts are a bit of a mess right now; there's no other way to put it. With Josh Downs requesting a trade earlier this week, it's uncertain if he's going to play going forward. This would put Allen as the de facto WR1 on the Colts, who are 9.5-point underdogs against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This season, the Jags have allowed 39.7 PPR points per game to opposing wide receivers, which is the fifth-most in the NFL.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
A very sneaky three consecutive games of 11 PPR points or more for Shakir, who now gets to take on the Ravens' defense, which allows the sixth-most (37.6) PPR points per game to opposing wide receivers. This game has a massive 54.5 over/under, putting all players in a great spot for production. It should be noted that DJ Moore missed the last two games, which allowed a larger role for Shakir. However, with Shakir's 19.6% target share and 26.9% red zone target share, he's involved enough to warrant a streamer option.
Makai Lemon, Philadelphia Eagles
Lemon stepped up in a big way last week with 19.70 PPR points, due to the Eagles' offense being severely depleted at wide receiver. With DeVonta Smith's status still up in the air for Sunday night, Lemon is poised to be the top target for the Eagles once again. The matchup against the Commanders is solid, as they allow the seventh-most (37.4) PPR points per game to wide receivers.
Tight end
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
Five touchdowns overall, and four straight games with one. That's what we've seen from Mike Gesicki this season, a player who is rostered in only 16% of Yahoo leagues. Is he a massive part of the offense overall? No. He only has an 8.4% target share, which is fifth on the Bengals. But he has the second-highest (16.1%) red zone target share, and is tied for the highest (33.3%) end zone target share. If you're struggling at tight end, Gesicki is a viable streamer this week.
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Freiermuth has been a bit quiet over the last few weeks, but his usage is still solid, and he has a decent matchup against the Cleveland Browns. With four solid tight ends – Juwan Johnson, George Kittle, Isaiah Likely, and Dalton Schultz – on their bye weeks, Freiermuth becomes a bit more intriguing. A 16.7% red zone target share is the second-highest on the Steelers, and a 33.3% goal line target share is the highest. The Browns allow 13.8 PPR points per game to tight ends, which is 14th in the league.
Defense
Las Vegas Raiders
I'm not going to sit here and say the Raiders' defense is "good", but situationally, this is a decent matchup. The Raiders come in with a 19.7% pressure rate on defense, which is fourth in the NFL, putting them in a good spot against Geno Smith, who has a 24.4% pressure rate per dropback, which is the ninth-highest. A little bit of pressure can pick up sacks or force turnovers, putting them in a spot for defensive scoring.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football Week 8 sleepers: 10 streamers to target
