The Cleveland Browns will travel south to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a divisional rivalry to finish Week 2. The Browns won handily against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, while the Steelers were blown out by the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff from Acrisure Stadium is set for 8:15 p.m. ET and will air on ABC. Below we take a look a lineup strategies for the DFS Showdown in this matchup.
NFL DFS Showdown strategy: Browns vs. Steelers
Captainās Picks
Nick Chubb, RB, Browns ($18,300)
Chubb is the most expensive player on the board and itās for good reason. Regardless of cost, you canāt afford to not start him. Heās the best offensive player in this matchup by a large margin. In Week 1, he had 18 carries for 106 yards and four receptions for 21 yards. Watson stole all the touchdowns in the air, but Chubb and the defense carried this team to a win. With as bad as the Browns passing game was, look for them to feed Chubb a ton Monday night.
Kenny Pickett, QB, Steelers ($13,800)
Pickett is priced relatively cheap for a quarterback in this DFS Showdown. Of the Steelers players, he has the best chance to score the most points. Najee Harris hasn’t looked good in the backfield for them. Pickett was 31-46 for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in Week 1. Look for Pickett to use his legs a bit more which will boost his DFS numbers.
FLEX Options
Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR, Browns ($5,000)
This is a risky play, but with Amari Cooper banged up, there is a ton of upside for Peoples-Jones. He had just one reception for 12 yards on two reception which was not expected. Last year, he finished the season with 839 receiving yards, so it was expected that he would continue to improve. Elijah Moore takes targets away from Peoples-Jones, but if Cooper is legitimately out, the two should be heavily involved in the offense. Even with the struggling passing game, he should still get four or five more targets in this one.
Dustin Hopkins, K, Browns ($4,200)
This is an extremely cheap price for a guy that could outscore a number of skill position players. The Browns offense outside of Chubb doesn’t scare me. I expect a number of field goal attempts for Hopkins in this one. In their Week 1 matchup, Hopkins made three field goals and an extra point which resulted in 12 DFS points. I expect him to finish right around this total again.
Players to Avoid
Deshaun Watson, QB, Browns ($10,600)
I have a feeling the Browns passing offense struggles in Pittsburgh tonight. Their pass rushers are due to breakout against the Cleveland Brownās squad and Watson will be forced to make some bad throws. There is a chance heās without his WR1 as well in Amari Cooper. Last week, Watson looked awful watching the game live. I expect the Browns to keep the ball on the ground with Chubb and let him carry this offense.
Amari Cooper, WR, Browns ($8,800)
There is a chance Cooper doesn’t even play in this game. But even if he does, Pittsburgh will do everything they can to take him away. Of Clevelandās wide receivers, heās the most proven by far. He only had three receptions for 37 yards in their Week 1 matchup. While Cooper is extremely talented, it feels like his connection with Watson isnāt always there. Since Watson has been back, heās gone over 75 receiving yards just once.
