RADIO
If you own Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant you can take a big sigh of relief. The homerun threat returned to practice on Thursday after missing time with a hip injury.
It sounds like the team fully expects Bryant to play in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts. He has a great matchup this week and I would consider him a WR1.
Bryant reminds me of a taller, more consistent, version of the Washington Redskins’ DeSean Jackson. Meaning he is a threat to score from anywhere on the football field. Even if opposing defenses have shut him down the entire game, there’s always a chance he’ll catch a 50+ yard bomb and take it to the house.
Through six games this season he has 509 yards on 27 receptions and five touchdowns. Together Bryant and Antonio Brown combine for one of the most feared receiver duos in the entire league. Needless to say, they make quarterback Ben Roethlisberger very happy.
Speaking of Roethlisberger, he is practicing in full after suffering a concussion. Roethlisberger loves both Brown and Bryant, which means both are WR1’s this week. And yup, Roethlisberger can be slotted in as a QB1.
Denver Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders is also practicing this week with an ankle and finger injury. He’s coming off one of his best performances of the season against the New England Patriots and can be considered a WR2 this week against the San Diego Chargers.
Quarterback Brock Osweiler seems to prefer Sanders over Demaryius Thomas in the passing game, which is odd, but it has been effective for him. I’d consider both Thomas and Sanders WR2’s this week, but I do like Sanders slightly more.
Through 10 games Sanders has caught 52 passes for 752 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Thomas has caught 72 balls for 911 yards and two touchdowns, but most of those receptions happened with Peyton Manning under center.
In other receiver news, Michael Floyd remained limited in practice on Thursday for the Arizona Cardinals with a hamstring injury. He dealt with the same injury last week and still played in the game. However, he didn’t seem to be at full strength.
He will enter Week 13’s game against the St. Louis Rams with 28 receptions for 446 yards and five touchdowns. Due to the injury and the tough matchup, I would consider Floyd a low-end WR3 this week.
I do, however, like his teammate Larry Fitzgerald as a high-end WR2 against the Rams.
