RADIO
The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the best fantasy offenses in the NFL and it leads to the most discussion on a weekly basis due to their unfortunate bad luck with injuries. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a foot injury in Week 4 and missed a month. Running back Le’Veon Bell needed surgery on his right knee and was ruled out for the season. Roethlisberger returned and injured his foot once again last week. Despite the injuries, the team continues to put up fantasy value and that should roll on against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac reported there’s “no chance” of Roethlisberger playing on Sunday and that would make Landry Jones the starting quarterback against Cleveland. Jones is not someone you should rush to start in fantasy this week unless you’re absolutely desperate. The main story to take away from his important role is that it won’t hurt your Steelers stars and may help one or two in particular. In the two games that saw Jones play the majority of snaps at quarterback, Martavis Bryant has nine catches for 182 yards and three touchdown receptions. There’s obviously chemistry between the two and Bryant only needs one or two deep plays to make a big impact in your fantasy lineup. For whatever reason, Bryant has struggled with Roethlisberger this year but has delivered results with Jones. Take advantage of the pairing one more time.
While Bryant is the most beneficial weapon to the quarterback situation, don’t worry about Antonio Brown or DeAngelo Williams. Both men are at the best of their respective positions in fantasy and this shouldn’t harm either of them. Brown had an amazing game last week against the Oakland Raiders with seventeen catches for 284 yards. Most of those numbers came with Roethlisberger still in the game but once Jones entered, he continued feeding Brown. This isn’t a Michael Vick scenario where you have to second guess starting Brown.
Williams has been one of the most impressive running backs in the NFL during games without Le’Veon Bell. In the three games he has started as running back, Williams is rushing for an average of 125 yards per game and has scored five rushing touchdowns. The Browns are the worst run defense in the NFL and Pittsburgh may try to feature him more than usual without Big Ben. You are starting all of your usual Steelers like any other week with extra emphasis on Bryant and Williams.
