Last week, I recommended Teddy Bridgewater, Tua Tagovailoa, and Mac Jones. Excluding Monday night’s name (since I am writing this before it gets played) Tua was QB3, Jones QB6, and TeddyB QB16. I was disappointed in Bridgewater’s performance but he still came out with nearly 16 fantasy points, whereas Tua had over 30 and Jones nearly 30. As for my tight ends, which I was not excited about, Ricky Seals-Jones was TE10. Both Anthony Firkser and Ross Dwelley were non-existent. I can forgive Dwelley because he played in a complete offensively-starved downpour but Firkser was over-shadowed by MyCole Pruit, who found the end zone and had more receptions.
We can say “bye bye” to Week 7. Brace yourself though. Week 10 and Week 14 aren’t pretty either. But it is Week 8 and only the Los Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens are taking time off.
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Quarterback Streamer of the Week: Mac Jones (NE) @ LA Chargers
Mac Jones continues to keep the Patriots rolling. He’s also looking more dangerous like in the days of ‘Bama even if he doesn’t have DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, or Najee Harris. Last week his biggest benefactor was Brandon Bolden. He may have the worst wide receivers in football but they are playing like a team and that’s all that matters. The Chargers’ defense has given up 76 points in the last two games with one of the teams being the Cleveland Browns. I think this is potentially a very high-scoring game. I will also make another bold(en) prediction: Jakobi Meyers will get his first TD. Yes, I said it.
Alternative Streamer of the Week: Carson Wentz (IND) vs Tennessee Titans
Some are of the opinion that Carson Wentz is a bad quarterback. Some still stand by their belief that Wentz is a great quarterback who has suffered from injuries and bad luck. I’m in the middle. I think he has shown glimpses of greatness and moments of “what the hell was that?”. I do believe that he has got some of his mojo back and was able to withstand last week’s miserable rainy conditions. He also has a great head coach who is creative and fearless. Michael Pittman is starting to reach his potential as being a true WR1. Mo Allie-Cox is starting to show signs that he can be a tight end worth rostering. And having a top-3 running back by the name of Jonathan Taylor also helps. I know Tennessee has stunned two of the best teams in the AFC in consecutive weeks and this week’s headlines has them in the Super Bowl contending conversion. However, I think Frank Reich is going to work more magic and out-coach Mike Vrabel this week. The Colts are going to make this division a two-horse race for the top. Both teams will be fun to watch, but neither will make the Super Bowl.
Dark Horses (but not without risk)
Daniel Jones (NYG) @ Kansas City Chiefs – Love the matchup on paper. Love the fact that Daniel Jones gets rushing yards. Most likely a few of his receivers will be back. Heck, maybe even Saquon. My reservations are this – Jones is a bit like Sam Darnold. He can be great or he can be devastatingly bad. The Chiefs have not been the Chiefs. This is true. But to count them out this early in the season even with the possibility of Mahomes being out is just plain silly. Many will flock to Jones this week and they could be right. I’m a bit skeptical. I can see the KC defense playing out of their skin, keeping this game under whatever the total is. Play Jones at your own risk – he’s either going to kill it or be plain bad.
Trevor Lawrence (JAX) @ Seattle Seahawks – Jacksonville is coming off of a win and a bye. All of that should be a positive form of motivation. Seattle’s defense is exploitable. T-Law has been improving every week. My hesitation is despite the potential for a shootout, it could end up lower scoring than people think. Geno Smith is not Russell Wilson and Lawrence is still a rookie that hasn’t reached Mac Jones’ level. Curb your enthusiasm but if he were to turn it up another notch, I wouldn’t be surprised. I just wouldn’t bank on it.
Tua Tagovailoa (MIA) @ Buffalo Bills – Tua’s range of outcomes is a-plenty facing the Bills. At first thought, I said “no way”. However, Tua is literally playing for his life. Whether or not you believe in all of the Deshaun Watson rumors, they have been around for a while so there seems to be some truth in it. I am pulling for the talented ex-‘Bama QB to prove the doubters wrong. This is a pivotal game for him. Facing a Bills team is never easy. Facing a Bills team coming off a last-minute loss could be ugly. Oh yeah, and the Bills have given up the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks so far in 2021. That being said, I lean Tua over the other two “dark horses”.
Tight End Streamer of the Week: Pat Freiermuth (PIT) vs Cleveland Browns
Calmer heads would go with Jared Cook who has been pretty consistent and is clearly the alpha TE in ex-San Diego. However, Pat Freiermuth is ascending and looks good doing so. With JuJu Smith-Schuster out for the year and the Steelers never loving James Washington, Meuuuth! has now not only usurped Eric Ebron as the team’s best option at tight end but now looks to be one of Big Ben’s best options. Short to intermediate routes suit the old quarterback and that helps Freiermuth’s case. He’s coming off his biggest snap share, targets and receptions. Maybe he can be what we were hoping Cole Kmet would be. He does come with the risk of disappearing but remember it is between the Browns. Football is never boring when the Steelers face Cleveland so I am believing that Pat will git’er dun.
Alternate Streamer of the Week: Jared Cook (LAC) vs New England Patriots
If you are not feeling it with Freiermuth then Jared Cook is the obvious choice to me. Always dangerous and still faster than most tight ends out there, it also helps that he has one of the most dynamic quarterbacks throwing him the ball. If Mike Williams shines again, look for Cook to reach his floor. If Mike Williams does a disappearing act, look for Cook to have a great day, despite playing the Pats and their propensity to bully tight ends this season.
Dark Horses (but not without risk)
C.J. Uzomah (CIN) @ NY Jets – great matchup for a player that has his moments and loves the end zone. It’s always feast or famine for C.J. In seven weeks of football, Uzomah has two weeks with over 20 fantasy points. He has one week of around 10 and the other four he basically took the night off. Play him with trepidation.
Evan Engram (NYG) @ Kansas City Chiefs – great matchup for a tight end who can dominate any game as easily as disappear. If there were a week that one would think he’ll be present and able this is the one. KC loves to support opposing tight ends. But remember: We all thought Baltimore was going to easily beat the Bengals last week too. Fantasy football – where anything and everything can happen.
Mo Alie-Cox (IND) vs Tennessee Titans – the Colts need to play Alie-Cox way, way, way Mo. We’ve been saying it for what seems like an eternity. He is the darkest of horses here. He has four touchdowns this season – the same number of touchdowns he had in his first three seasons. But he’s only had five receptions once in four seasons. That came over a year ago. He’s either going to break out or he’ll fade back into oblivion. It’s time to ride the train or get off.
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Marc Mathyk is a featured writer at FantasyPros and co-founder of Veridian Global, a fantasy football apparel company. For more from Marc, check out his archive and follow him @Masterjune70.
