Chiefs at Steelers
Game Info
Kickoff: August 17th, 2019, at 7:30 PM
Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Betting Odds: PIT -1 via Oddsshark
Network: NFL Network
Kansas City Chiefs
All Darwin, No Damien?
The past 2 weeks have been a roller coaster for fantasy drafters when it comes to the Chiefs RBs. Damien Williams was the no-doubt bell-cow RB, then got hurt and now might be part of a full-blown committee. This past week the Chiefs coaching staff have been singing the praises of their young RBs and Darwin Thompson in particular. The 6th round rookie put on quite a show in the Chiefs week 1 game against the Bengals racking up 51 yards and a touchdown on 7 touches from scrimmage. This week in practice, Thompson has gotten some run with the first-team offense at the goal line and has done well. He will be in line to see plenty of work in this week’s matchup against the Steelers and if he can build on his past performance he can start putting some serious pressure on Damien Williams for touches.
More Touches For Mecole
The Kansas City Chiefs have speed, and boy oh boy do they have a lot of it and that includes rookie WR Mecole Hardman. On limited touches last week, you got a sense of the explosive ability that Hardman has. Every time he touches the ball there’s a chance it’s going the distance. Although his fantasy appeal did take a bit of a hit with the news of Tyreek Hill escaping suspension, he will still get his opportunity to shine. The Chiefs drafted him in the 2nd round for a reason and that reason is to create matchup nightmares for opposing defenses. Expect to see more of what Hardman can do against the Steelers weak secondary. A player like Hardman won’t have the week to week consistency required to be useful in regular fantasy leagues but feel free to take a flier on him in best-ball because when he hits it will be week-winning.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Preseason Hero
James Washington is turning into the preseason poster boy. Last Friday’s game was just another example of Washington turning heads when it doesn’t matter. He put on similar performances last year around this time and they never truly materialized during the regular season. He was supposed to head into the 2019 season firmly planted as the Steelers WR2 behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, however, almost all reports out of camp have been negative. It continues to look more and more likely that Donte Moncrief will start the year as the second WR and Washington competing with rookie Diontae Johnson for WR3 duties. I would not be surprised if Washington again feasts on what appears to be a woeful Chiefs secondary, I only urge you to temper season-long expectations and to not buy the hype.
Heir To The Steel Throne
Do you love preseason backup QB competitions? If you do, then you are in for a treat in this upcoming matchup. The Steelers are fielding two young and talented backup QBs who are desperately trying to separate themselves from the other. Joshua Dobbs and Mason Rudolph both played a large chunk of snaps in last week’s game and it is only fair to assume that this Friday will be no different. We can expect to see both for the majority of the game apart from a few snaps IF the Steelers decide to let their starters play a series or two. Ben Roethlisberger has been relatively healthy over his career, but he does get banged up now and then and he is getting up in age and the Steelers believe they have a successor on their roster. Dobbs and Rudolph are both competing for the main backup spot as well as a chance to be the franchise QB when Ben eventually decides to hang it up. The best time to get your coaches to notice you and make a name for yourself is the preseason, so expect the best they have to offer this week against the Chiefs.
-Matthew Perri (@MattPerri91)