There’s nothing like a divisional game to kick off Week 12. The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to impress this season while the Cleveland Browns are very clearly heading in the opposite direction. Jameis Winston taking over under center has given the Browns some optimism, but it hasn’t truly changed their fortunes. For the Steelers, the move to Russell Wilson continues to prove to be a wise one. Anything can happen when these two rivals take the field against each other. Pittsburgh is favored by 3.5 points on their home field in what figures to be a low-scoring game as the over/under is set at 36.5. That puts both team defenses in play for tonight. Let’s jump into some Thursday Night Football DFS picks with preferences ranked within each category.
Thursday Night Football DFS Picks – Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Captain
Russell Wilson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Browns are coming off a rough game in New Orleans last week, and things won’t be much easier for them tonight. Overall, Cleveland ranks 24th in the league with 24.8 points allowed per game, and Russell Wilson should take advantage of that. Moving Wilson into the starting lineup has proven to be the correct decision as the veteran continues to lead Pittsburgh to victory.
Adding Mike Williams to George Pickens gives Wilson another weapon to work with. There likely won’t be an overabundance of offense tonight, but Wilson will have the ball in his hands to start each play. The potential is there for Wilson to be the highest-scoring player on the plate. Through four games, Wilson is averaging 236 passing yards with six touchdowns.
George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Opposing receivers have had success against the Browns this season, and George Pickens will be next up on that list. He’s averaging 73 receiving yards per game while catching 48 of 77 targets. The biggest knock on Pickens is that he has just two touchdown catches on the season. Each of them have come with Wilson under center so that is cause for optimism. Tonight, we should see another strong game from the Pittsburgh receiver.
Flex
Jameis Winston, QB, Cleveland Browns
From a team perspective, the result was ugly last week. However, when we are making our DFS picks, do we really care about that? An 89 yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy certainly helped things, but Winston did throw for 395 yards with another touchdown. That was Winston’s second game in his last three in which he broke the 300-yard mark.
Over the last three weeks, Winston has six touchdown passes as he has done a solid job stepping in. Tonight things will be more difficult for Winston against a tough Pittsburgh defense, but if anyone is going to make a DFS impact for Cleveland, it will be him.
Jerry Jeudy, WR, Cleveland Browns
In each of the past two weeks, Jerry Jeudy has been targeted 11 times. It’s clear that he has emerged as the number-one receiving option in Cleveland for whatever passing volume is available. The 89-yard touchdown last week was notable, but Jeudy has established chemistry with Winston. Over the last three weeks, Jeudy has 294 receiving yards on 18 receptions and he’ll continue to be a crucial downfield target.
David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns
Quantity is the name of the game here. Last week David Njoku was targeted nine times and the tight end secured all nine for 81 yards. When healthy, Njoku is a high-volume target but he is averaging just 48 yards per game with only two touchdowns. In fairness to Njoku, the Browns’ offense has been less than ideal at points this season, but he is a capable option for Winston.
Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Najee Harris continues to have a steady workload while racking up yards for the Steelers. Through 10 games, he has 175 carries for 708 yards, but he only has three touchdowns. The consistent carries do establish a floor, but averaging four yards per carry does limit the ceiling.
Harris has limited involvement in the passing game, and ultimately we need him to find the end zone to return a desirable fantasy value. However, in a low-scoring game, we have to follow the quantity.
Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
Following a return from knee surgery last year, it has been slow going for Nick Chubb. Last week, Chubb carried the ball just 11 times, but in the two weeks prior he had a combined 37 carries. Chubb gained 50 yards on 11 carries against New Orleans in what was the best game of his season to this point.
It’s not going to be the easiest matchup for Chubb, but this could be the week in which his workload is expanded.
Value
Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
The problem with Pat Freiermuth this season is that his consistent workload hasn’t been very fruitful. For the most part, Freiermuth has caught between two and three catches per game with 295 yards in total. What we really need this week is a touchdown, and so far the tight end has just three on the season. At the least, we there is some level of a floor we are working with.
Chris Boswell, K, Pittsburgh Steelers
The fact that the Steelers offense has truly stood out this season has done wonders for Chris Boswell’s value. He isn’t going to have six field goal attempts every game like he did last week, but the quantity has been there this season. What’s better news, is that the quality has been there as well. Boswell has made 29 of 30 field goals this season while being perfect on his 20 extra points.
If you really want to make an impact, Boswell has made nine field goals from beyond 50 yards. That’s where the value truly comes from.
Fade
Based on the slate and available options, there’s no one I’m truly staying away from. The above options are clearly preferred, but there is no one truly off the table.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!