George Pickens ($5,900) is coming off a dud performance vs. the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Week 5, catching three of his seven targets for 26 yards (5.6 FPTS). While the seven targets led the Steelers, Pickens only ran a route on 67% of his team’s drop backs, which was the fourth-most on the team and a season-low for the wideout by a large margin. Before this, Pickens was averaging an 85% route rate. Following the heartbreaking loss to Dallas, when asked about Pickens’ decrease in snaps, HC Mike Tomlin said “We just wanted to minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity.”
While this could be a true statement, Pittsburgh’s coaching staff may have been disciplining Pickens for something, possibly his behavior. Nonetheless, the receiver’s decreased workload wasn’t an encouraging sign, especially when his opportunities are always somewhat limited for a Steelers’ offense that throws the ball at the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
Pickens faces the Raiders this weekend, who are the second-lowest graded defense on PFF, but they are more vulnerable on the ground than through the air, with Las Vegas allowing the sixth-most yards per rush (4.9) and only the 15th-most yards per pass (6.5). Plus, Pittsburgh is a three-point favorite for this contest, which should result in their usual run-heavy game plan, and this tilt isn’t expected to produce many points, with this game’s total being the second-lowest of Week 6 at 36.5 points on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Combine the matchup concerns with the concerns about his role, and Pickens is a player worth sitting this Sunday.
Start or Sit George Pickens? Sit.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
