The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the New York Giants in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE Pat Freiermuth.
Is Pat Freiermuth Playing in Week 8?
Freiermuth is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Steelers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Pat Freiermuth in Week 8?
After being targeted on over 15.5% of passes when he was on the field in each of Pittsburgh’s first four games this season, Freiermuth hasn’t cleared 12.5% in three straight games. He managed to haul in a nice 30-yard catch in Russell Wilson’s season debut, but it was his third straight game with no more than three catches.
Volume has never been a calling card for Freiermuth, and even with Wilson adding equity to the passing game, it’s not something we can rely on. He is the head of the “I’m a part of this offense but need a touchdown to pay off” tier at tight end. That makes him expendable if there are other options available.
I prefer Hunter Henry to Freiermuth this week if we are looking at “fringey” tight ends playing New York teams. Henry has been a part of the Drake Maye puzzle. That role is good enough for confidence in him over Freiermuth this week in a more difficult matchup than you might assume for a player with this skill set (the Giants rank better than league average in YAC, red-zone defense, and overall scoring defense this season).
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Pat Freiermuth’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Freiermuth is projected to score 9.1 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.8 receptions for 36.2 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Pat Freiermuth’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 5:15 PM ET on Friday, January 10. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Wild Card Superflex Rankings.
Wild Card TE PPR Rankings
1) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. PIT)
2) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (at LAR)
3) Zach Ertz | WAS (at TB)
4) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (at BAL)
5) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (vs. DEN)
6) Tucker Kraft | GB (at PHI)
7) Dallas Goedert | PHI (vs. GB)
8) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. PIT)
9) Will Dissly | LAC (at HOU)
10) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. MIN)
11) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. LAC)
12) Payne Durham | TB (vs. WAS)
13) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. DEN)
14) Cade Otton | TB (vs. WAS)
15) Stone Smartt | LAC (at HOU)
16) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. GB)
17) Luke Musgrave | GB (at PHI)
18) Darnell Washington | PIT (at BAL)
19) Josh Oliver | MIN (at LAR)
20) Lucas Krull | DEN (at BUF)
21) Cade Stover | HOU (vs. LAC)
22) Hayden Hurst | LAC (at HOU)
23) Nate Adkins | DEN (at BUF)
24) Colby Parkinson | LAR (vs. MIN)
25) Devin Culp | TB (vs. WAS)
26) John Bates | WAS (at TB)
27) Adam Trautman | DEN (at BUF)
28) Tucker Fisk | LAC (at HOU)
29) Davis Allen | LAR (vs. MIN)
30) Ben Sinnott | WAS (at TB)
31) MyCole Pruitt | PIT (at BAL)
32) Ko Kieft | TB (vs. WAS)
33) E.J. Jenkins | PHI (vs. GB)
34) Johnny Mundt | MIN (at LAR)
35) Connor Heyward | PIT (at BAL)
New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers Insights
New York Giants
Team: The Giants haven’t won a Week 8 game in a decade (seven straight losses), but their last such win came in the state of Pennsylvania – the three-headed monster of Eli Manning, Peyton Hillis, and Victor Cruz led New York over Matt Barkley’s Eagles in 2013.
QB: Daniel Jones’ out-of-pocket completion rate sits at a career-low 44.4%, with just 16.7% of such attempts resulting in a first down.
Offense: The Giants have scored a touchdown on just 11.8% of their possessions this season (12.6% last season), putting them on pace for their worst showing since the 2003 team scored a touchdown on 11.2% of drives.
Defense: The Giants have intercepted just 0.5% of passes this season, a rate that is better than only the Jaguars (0.4%).
Fantasy: Malik Nabers didn’t produce for his fantasy managers in his return to action last week, and this is a tough matchup, but 72.8% of yards gained against the Steelers come through the air, the third-highest rate in the league).
Betting: New York has covered three straight long-rest games, and over tickets have come through for all three.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Team: The Steelers are starting drives, on average, on their 32.4-yard line, the fourth-best average starting field position in the NFL.
QB: Russell Wilson averaged 0.23 EPA per dropback in his Steelers debut. Justin Fields has hit that mark just five times in 46 career games (his high-water mark in his six Steelers games was 0.17).
Offense: The Steelers have scored 32 and 37 points in the last two weeks after averaging 18.4 PPG over their first five weeks. Pittsburgh will try to score 30+ points in three straight games for the first time since 2015 (had a six-game streak from Weeks 9-15 that year).
Defense: The Steelers have yet to allow a point in the third quarter this season (outscoring teams 46-0). Pittsburgh is the only team that has not allowed a point in any quarter this season.
Fantasy: Russell Wilson scored 24.9 fantasy points against the Jets on Sunday Night – his most fantasy points scored in a game in 400 days and the most a QB has scored against the Jets in 1,388 days (Tom Brady, Week 17, 2021).
Betting: The Steelers have covered seven of their past eight long-rest spots (average cover margin: +4.5 points).