Steelers' George Pickens Out for Week 14 | Fantasy Outlook for Calvin Austin, Pat Freiermuth, Russell Wilson, Jaylen Warren, Cordarrelle Patterson and More
Analyzing the Steelers offense in week 14 after George Pickens was ruled out with an injury.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to try and avenge a loss to the Cleveland Browns in week 14 without one of their top players. George Pickens was a surprise inactive.
Let’s discuss what his absence means for the Steelers other offensive playmakers.
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Pickens’ Numbers
Pickens has 850 yards and three touchdowns across 55 catches and 90 targets this season.
Pickens has posted over 50 yards in all but three games. He’s gotten at least four targets in every game, and has seven or more in all but three.
In the first matchup against the Browns, Pickens went for 48 yards on four catches and seven targets. That was in an adverse weather game.
Other Pass Catching Options
Tight end Pat Freiermuth is the Pittsburgh pass catcher with the next most receiving yards. He has 422 yards and four scores on 41 grabs and 47 targets.
Wideout Calvin Austin III is up to 383 yards and four scores on 22 receptions and 38 targets. Van Jefferson is another option, but has only 221 yards and a touchdown on 17 catches and 29 targets this season. Backup tight end Darnell Washington has 192 yards and a score on 18 grabs and 23 targets.
No other wideout or tight end has over 100 yards for the Steelers.
Week 14 Outlook and Starting Recommendations
The matchup against the Browns is a pretty favorable one for the Steelers’ wide receivers. It’s a tougher matchup for the tight ends.
Without Pickens around, Austin looks like the top Steelers’ wideout. He had 78 yards and a score on three catches and targets the last time these two teams squared off.
Austin doesn’t have a ton of fantasy success this season, but with fantasy owners scrambling to replace Pickens, and with so many teams on byes, Austin is probably a better option that he appears. He’ll get some standard league starts this week, but I’d only truly feel confident playing him in a deeper league.
Freiermuth had 59 yards on four catches and targets in the team’s first meeting. That mixed with Pickens’ being out, makes Freiermuth a good starting option in my mind, even though the matchup appears tough on paper.
Jefferson had 39 yards on two catches and targets in the first meeting against the Browns. I think he’s the second-best fantasy wideout for Pittsburgh today with Pickens out, but he’d be a risky play in standard leagues given his season-long involvement. I’d be fine starting him in a deeper league.
Washington had just 14 yards on three catches and targets against Cleveland a couple weeks ago. A backup tight end is usually not a very good fantasy asset, but in a week decimated by byes, and considering the Steelers’ other pass-catching options, Washington might now be a sneaky good deep league starting option.
Not having Pickens out there is definitely a concern for quarterback Russell Wilson too. However, the Browns are a pretty favorable matchup for him, so I still like the idea of starting Wilson.
Another reason why I’d start Wilson is because the Browns are good at controlling opposing running backs. That doesn’t mean I’m benching Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren though.
In the first matchup against Cleveland, Harris had 41 rushing yards on 16 attempts and added 13 receiving yards on two catches and targets. I’d expect Pittsburgh to give Harris more work with Pickens out, and volume work should help Harris still post a solid fantasy score.
Warren rushed for 45 yards and a score on 11 carries and had 19 receiving yards on three grabs and four targets. I’d also expect Warren to get some more work this week without Pickens around.
The matchup is definitely a tough one for those two Steelers’ backs, but they are definitely who the team trusts most offensively after Pickens. I fully expect the Steelers to try to grind out a low-scoring win, and that should mean a healthy amount of touches for both backs, and I think that will lead to some decent fantasy scores.
In a week with six teams on byes, don’t overthink things - those two backs are going to be given a lot more touches than most of the other players you are comparing them against. Trust that the Steelers will ride those two backs and get them in your lineups.
A really deep fantasy sleeper could be Cordarrelle Patterson. He has 120 rushing yards on 24 carries and 71 receiving yards on nine catches and 11 targets.
Patterson got six touches last week, and is another trustworthy veteran Wilson can turn to with Pickens out. I could see the Steelers using Patterson more in the passing game, with Harris and Warren holding down the backfield.
