At the risk of hyperbole, the season is on the line tonight for the New York Giants. This week they travel to Pittsburgh and prime-time games haven’t exactly agreed with Daniel Jones in his career. Russell Wilson is making his second straight start this week following a strong debut. With that being said, we are expecting limited offense tonight as the over/under sits at 36.5. The Steelers are favored at home by six points as they continue what has been a strong season to this point. Here are some Monday Night Football NFL DFS picks with preferences ranked within each category so you can find success.
Monday Night Football NFL DFS Picks: New York Giants @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Captain
Russell Wilson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers were clearly onto something when they inserted Russell Wilson into their lineup last week. The veteran very quickly made his presence felt in his debut, and that success should continue against the Giants. New York is in the bottom half of the league in DFS points allowed to opposing quarterbacks and Wilson has shaken the rust off.
Last week he only completed 16 of 29 passes, but he made them count. Wilson threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns while not turning the ball over and rushing for a third touchdown. We can work with that production as part of our DFS picks.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
It’s really a pretty simple concept. The Giants needs Malik Nabers to be heavily involved in their offense for them to have a chance at being victorious. The good news is that he is capable of delivering on those expectations and that level of volume.
Last week Nabers returned from a two-game absence and caught just four of his eight targets for 41 yards. It was a rough day all around for the Giants and they certainly need to be better tonight. Prior to that, Nabers was targeted at least 12 times for three consecutive weeks. In that stretch, the rookie caught 30 of his 45 targets for 320 yards and three touchdowns. There’s no one on either team that has more upside.
Flex
George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Giants cornerback situation is less than ideal. George Pickens is in a great spot tonight to capitalize on that. Having Russell Wilson under center also helps Pickens take things to the next level as the clear number-one receiver. In their first game together, Pickens was targeted nine times and caught five passes for 111 yards. That also included his first touchdown of the season.
It was the second 100-plus yard game for Pickens on the season. He has the talent to take the next step, and now with Wilson, he has the quarterback to help him do so.
Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
With 117 carries over the first seven weeks of the season, it’s clear that Najee Harris is once again the workhorse in Pittsburgh’s backfield. That role is nothing new to Harris and he continues to handle it well. This week though, Harris is coming off back-to-back efforts of more than 100 rushing yards (106 and 102).
Harris has touchdowns in each of those games, but perhaps more importantly, he has broken off a big play in each. The running back has long rushes of 36 and 34 yards, respectively, as he showed off a part of his game we usually don’t get to see. If the game script does what it’s supposed to do, Harris could have a very busy second half.
Pittsburgh Steelers, Defense
The Giants’ offensive line is operating at less than full strength. Andrew Thomas is out for the season and right tackle is in flux. This is simply a bad week to be playing TJ Watt and a strong defensive front.
Pittsburgh has 15 sacks on the season along with nine interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Quite simply, they can make things happen.
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
The Steelers are certainly tough against opposing quarterbacks, but this is a critical matchup for Daniel Jones. Just because we like their defense, it doesn’t mean Jones is completely devoid of value. That doesn’t mean he’s going immediately become an elite option, but the pressure is on Jones. He has proven to be capable of targeting Nabers downfield. This is a part of Jones’ game that will be critical tonight as he needs to take advantage of his weapons.
Jones has failed to reach the end zone in each of the past two weeks, but he partially makes up for it with his ability on the ground. So far, Jones has rushed for 184 yards which does add a few points each week to his fantasy production. The Giants are going to need Jones to look downfield to keep them in the game, and a healthy Naber helps to make that happen.
Value
Tyrone Tracy, RB, New York Giants
The Giants’ offense was a mess last week, so we didn’t really get to see what they looked like from a ground perspective. When Devin Singletary was previously sidelined, we truly saw what Tyrone Tracy could do. Last week that wasn’t the case as Tracy carried the ball just six times for 23 yards while catching all three of his targets for another nine yards. However, in the same game, Singletary only carried the ball five times so that split was also noteworthy.
Tracy has already had a game of 129 rushing yards this season and he is capable as a receiving option.
Fade
Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants
Regardless of how good Tracy does, the Giants will continue to have a split backfield. The problem for Devin Singletary is that he isn’t the more explosive option. He also has a disadvantage in the passing game so that hurts his case. This isn’t shaping up to be favorable for Singletary after rushing five times for 18 yards last week. That came after he averaged just 1.7 yards per carry on 14 carries the week prior.
Singletary is still priced like a true number one back, and that isn’t a good use of your salary cap.