Are you in search of some DFS picks on DraftKings for the Thursday Night Football (TNF) showdown between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers?
Well, look no further! Ezekiel Elliott and Jaylen Warren are only a few of my top DFS plays for the Week 14 contest on TNF. Let’s find some fantasy football wins before Sunday’s slate!
New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Top TNF DFS Picks on DraftKings
Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers ($12,000) – Captain
The status of Steelers RB Najee Harris for TNF is certainly up in the air after he was listed as a nonparticipant for Tuesday’s practice due to a knee injury. If Harris is unable to go against the Patriots, then Warren immediately becomes a very reasonably priced option to captain your DFS lineup.
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Warren has proven all season that he has plenty of standalone value with Harris in the lineup. So, if Harris does play then Warren could still have a quality outing against New England, but his ceiling does climb significantly if Harris is ruled out.
His usual pass-catching floor could be in question with Trubisky under center, but his proven big play ability makes him an ideal candidate in this Showdown format on DraftKings.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, New England Patriots ($9,400)
Despite the continued struggles of the New England offense, the production from RB Ezekiel Elliott has been far from the problem in 2023. Zeke saw a season-high 21 touches last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, which includes four receptions for 40 yards.
The main reason he saw a huge jump in usage was the result of Rhamondre Stevenson sustaining a high ankle sprain during the game, which led to Zeke being on the field for 69% of the offensive snaps in Week 13.
One could certainly make a case for Elliott being a strong candidate for the captain spot in your DFS lineup, but the severe limitations of the Patriots offense make me want to go a different direction against the Steelers.
Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers ($7,400)
Pittsburgh Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth followed up a career performance in Week 12 with just three receptions for 29 yards against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Unfortunately, this type of stat line is what fantasy managers have seen from Freiermuth throughout the majority of his 2023 campaign.
However, with Trubisky under center, Freiermuth may be a quality pay-down option with just enough upside to justify a spot in your lineup.
The sample size isn’t that huge with the Trubisky-Freiermuth combo, but Freiermuth did produce back-to-back games with 12+ fantasy points to start the 2022 season with Trubisky as the team’s signal-caller.
If you expect Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to heat Trubisky — which I do — then Freiermuth could be a busy safety blanket for the former first-round pick on TNF.
Mitchell Trubisky, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers ($9,200)
The fact that the thought of not putting a QB in this DFS lineup did cross my mind tells you I’m not expecting a high-scoring affair in this contest. However, if there is a QB worth putting in your lineup, then at least we can confidently say Trubisky is far more unlikely to be benched than whoever is under center for the Patriots in this game.
Sure, it feels like Trubisky’s best days in the NFL are far behind him, but he still possesses a dual-threat skill set with competent weapons in this Pittsburgh offense.
Pittsburgh Steelers Defense ($6,600)
The Steelers defense loves to pressure opposing quarterbacks. They can do it in a variety of ways, with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith combining for 20 sacks this season, but they also blitz 36.9% of the time, which is the highest rate in the league.
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Bailey Zappe is likely to get his second start of the season, which could mean the Steelers defense registers a handful of sacks on TNF. Zappe was sacked five times against the Chargers and could be forced into multiple mistakes if the Patriot’s offense can’t sustain drives and is forced to have Zappe throw the ball more than 30 times in this game to stay competitive.
New England Patriots Defense ($5,000)
On the flip side, the Patriots defense blitzes the fifth-most of any team in the league at 36%, which could be problematic for Trubisky. The Patriot’s defense managed to hold Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers offense to just six points on Sunday, which proves this unit is still capable of frustrating opposing offensive units.
Trubisky has turned the ball over three times on fewer than 55 dropbacks this season, which makes the Patriots defense an interesting option for your DFS lineup.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!
