Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 16th, at 1:00 PM EST
Location: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Betting Odds: TB -8, 44 total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
Writer: Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterback
Tom Brady (Start, QB1)
Tom Brady didn’t need a bogus roughing the passer call to go his way in order to stay undefeated against the Falcons, but it certainly helped his attempt in last week’s win. Brady completed 35 of a whopping 52 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown. It’s his second game in a row with 52 attempts, and Brady now owns a 7:1 passing touchdown to interception ratio. Week 6 is another juicy matchup, as he will face a Pittsburgh defense that is allowing the fourth most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season.
Running Backs
Leonard Fournette (Start, RB1), Rachaad White (Sit)
Talk about being a target hog. Leonard Fournette caught an absurd 10 of 11 targets for 83 yards, in addition to 56 yards on the ground off 14 carries. It was clearly a busy day for Tampa’s RB1 against Atlanta, good for 35.9 points in full-PPR formats. With only rookie Rachaad White behind him, who isn’t much of a threat to Lenny’s touches, Fournette remains on the RB1 radar against a Steelers defense that just allowed 120 rushing yards against the Bills; albeit across four players.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Mike Evans (Start, WR1), Chris Godwin (Start, WR2), Cameron Brate (Sit), Cade Otton (Sit)
Mike Evans, the only truly healthy Tampa Bay receiver these days, caught half of his eight targets last week for 81 yards. Evans continues to be the alpha, as the likes of Chris Godwin and Russell Gage continue to play through injuries; and then there is Julio Jones who is certainly not fantasy relevant despite a solid Week 1. Gage has dealt with hamstring and back issues all season, and now this week his ankle has popped up on the injury report. Godwin, dealing with his hip and knee, was limited in practice as as of Wednesday, but should be suiting up this week. For both Evans and Godwin, the Steelers are allowing a league-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season, which poses for a potential big day for either – or both.
Cameron Brate suffered a concussion against the Chiefs, and was out against the Falcons. He’s back to practice this week and appears on track to return against Pittsburgh, though he’s a touchdown-dependent TE2. Rookie Cade Otton took advantage of having no Brate in the picture last week, catching six of seven targets for 43 yards. That said, if Brate does return, it effectively disrupts Otton’s potential.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback
Kenny Pickett (Sit)
From two rushing touchdowns in his NFL debut, to 327 scoreless yards through the air the next week, rookie Kenny Pickett threw the ball 52 times in the beatdown loss against Buffalo. He completed 34 passes, and had another interception. It will be interesting to see how he develops as the season moves forward, but this week against Tampa Bay is likely not the spot for that to trend rightly.
Running Backs
Najee Harris (Start, FLEX if you must), Jaylen Warren (Sit)
Where in the world is rookie year Najee Harris? In the loss to Buffalo, he rushed for just 20 yards on 11 carries. The ROI on Harris has been some of the worst this fantasy season (aside from a Jonathan Taylor injury for his owners), and his performance thus far is bumping him down to a FLEX designation this week against the Buccaneers. Jaylen Warren is seeing his involvement increase week over week, and he even out-snapped Harris last week. Head coach Mike Tomlin has publicly said his role will continue to grow, and while you shouldn’t start him yet, he’s worthy of a spot on your bench.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
Diontae Johnson (Start, WR2), George Pickens (Start, FLEX),
Coming off a 13-target outing against the Bills, Diontae Johnson suffered a knee to the hip in practice on Wednesday, but he insists he is fine. While the targets were evident, Johnson only caught five of the 13 for 60 yards. Even so, the move away from Mitch Trubisky has certainly benefited Johnson, as well as rookie George Pickens, who himself caught six of eight targets for 83 yards in the lopsided loss to Buffalo. The two are now viable options on a weekly basis. Assuming Pat Freiermuth (concussion) is out this week – as he was a DNP on Wednesday – there aren’t any other fantasy viable options at the TE position for the Steelers. You can bank on an uptick in targets for Johnson and Pickens.