Week 12 of the NFL season has arrived! Thursday Night Football is always hit-or-miss from a fantasy perspective, you can either make or break your week in the first game of the slate.
Let’s highlight my start/sit fantasy football picks for Browns vs. Steelers on TNF.
TNF Must-Starts:
- Steelers D/ST
Start ‘Em: David Njoku
In a week with multiple solid tight end options on bye, Njoku is a strong start, even against a tough defense.
The veteran is one of two Browns pass-catchers who have maintained their fantasy value after Deshaun Watson’s injury, alongside Cedric Tillman, who also has WR2 upside in this matchup.
Njoku has scored at least 17 PPR points in three of his last four games, seeing 37 targets over that stretch. Regardless of Cleveland’s lackluster ability to find the end zone, he should be heavily featured once again Thursday.
Sit ‘Em: Pat Freiermuth
It seems like everyone in the Steelers’ offense has benefitted from Russell Wilson starting, except for Freiermuth.
The 26-year-old just hasn’t been that involved, hitting the double-digit fantasy point mark once in Wilson’s four starts for Pittsburgh, seeing just 10 total targets over that span. Until Freiermuth carves out a larger role in the Steelers’ passing attack, he shouldn’t be in your lineup.
Check out my full Week 12 start/sit article with picks at each position here!
Start ‘Em: George Pickens
The addition of Russell Wilson has provide to be immensely valuable for Pittsburgh’s top receiver.
In the four games with Wilson under center, Pickens has averaged 17.7 PPR points. His target share hasn’t necessarily notably improved, but the quality of his targets has. The Steelers offense suddenly looks like one of the most formidable units in the league, and that should continue against the Browns, who allow the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing receivers. Fire up Pickens as a low-end WR1.
Those are my start ’em, sit ’em fantasy football picks for Thursday Night Football! Stay tuned for more fantasy advice later this week.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
