The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Baltimore Ravens on Wild Card Weekend. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR George Pickens.
Is George Pickens Playing vs. the Ravens?
Pickens 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 George Pickens on Wild Card Weekend?
Well, that was a performance. George Pickens was a disaster last week, posting the rare stat line that featured more catches than yards and more drops than both of those categories put together. For the season, he’s put nine balls on the ground. You could argue that number is higher depending on how stingy you want to be with your data tracking.
There are two ways to look at the Pickens case – I’ll present them and you can elect to choose your own adventure.
On one hand, he’s cleared 85 air yards in seven of his past eight games and is the clear top target in an offense for a team that is an 8.5/9.5-point underdog. He has two games back from injury and is facing a defense that is far more stingy on the ground than through the air.
On the other, he’s managed to turn 13 targets into just 50 yards after missing three straight games with a nagging hamstring injury. None of those 13 looks have come in the red zone and with Baltimore’s running game, Pittsburgh’s possession count could very much be kept in check.
I tend to side with the latter, though I will admit that a Pickens breakout week is far from impossible. We are looking at one of the hinge players for Wild Card weekend – whatever stance you make, I’d make it a strong one and let the chips fall where they may with the other pieces on your roster.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Wild Card Weekend Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
George Pickens’ Fantasy Points Projection on Wild Card Weekend
As of Saturday, Pickens is projected to score 15.2 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5 receptions for 82.1 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.
George Pickens’ Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)