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• Steelers WR George Pickens upgraded to full participant in Monday’s practice ahead of Wednesday’s Christmas clash with the Chiefs

  • Good news, Pickens managers: this is the best (and most concrete) news we’ve heard about Pickens over the past few weeks, and it’s looking more and more like Pickens won’t be late for Christmas after all. The Steelers passing game has desperately missed Pickens’ presence over the past three games, with QB Russell Wilson averaging under 200 yards passing per game and no Steelers receivers having any fantasy relevant finishes in that span. He’ll return to a tough matchup against the Chiefs, but will be a must start in fantasy championships across the board as a WR2 play. With Pickens back, Russell Wilson’s floor raises back into the comfortably streamer territory, while he’ll also have a shot at low-QB1 upside if Pittsburgh would wind up having to throw the ball more than they would like.

• Texans WR Tank Dell diagnosed with torn ACL, dislocated knee following Week 16’s loss to Chiefs, will miss remainder of 2024

  • The fantasy Gods have made a martyr out of Tank Dell so far in his short career. After suffering a season-ending ankle injury last year, Dell was relegated to a low-ceiling, low-floor flex play for the majority of 2024 – and in easily his best game of the season in a tough matchup against the Chiefs, the fantasy Gods struck him down with a major knee dislocation and ACL tear. Needless to say, Dell won’t be returning this season and the concern shifts from his availability in the final two games and the playoffs to his availability to open 2025. Rarely do players suffer ACL tears in December and return to action at full speed, let alone at all, in September of the following season; that being said, Dell is looking more like he’ll be a late round flier in 2025 drafts than anything, especially after a season as disappointing as his sophomore campaign. In response to losing Dell, the Texans scooped up recently released WR Diontae Johnson off of waivers. With just about 36 hours between him joining the team and kickoff tomorrow on Christmas, it’s unlikely he plays in Week 17 – however, there’s a chance he takes the field in Week 18 assuming he’s willing to enter the game. There are certainly plenty of available targets in the offense behind Nico Collins, but Johnson might not be a useful piece for fantasy managers until after the regular season is over. For that reason, he can remain on waiver wires at this time.

• Chargers designated RB J.K. Dobbins (knee) to return from injured reserve, opening his 21-day practice window

  • This doesn’t necessarily mean that Dobbins will be activated for this weekend’s game against the Patriots, or that he’ll be ready to go in Week 18, either. With the Chargers’ sights set on a run at the postseason, however, getting Dobbins back as soon as possible will only help them lock up their spot in the big dance. Fantasy managers shouldn’t count on Dobbins being back for the fantasy championship in Week 17, but who knows – with a little Christmas magic, crazier things have happened. Reindeer have flown, for crying out loud. If Dobbins isn’t able to go, it would be Gus Edwards in line once again for the lion’s share of the work in the Chargers backfield. He’s fresh off a two-touchdown performance against a tough Broncos defense, and he draws a much better matchup this week against the Patriots. He’ll be a solid RB3 start with some RB2 upside, while Faraz-favorite Kimani Vidal can likely be returned to the waiver wire after seeing Hassan Haskins become the moneyball vulture to Gus Edwards. Once Dobbins is back, he can re-enter the RB2 discussion – but that might not be until the wild card round given the three-week runway the Chargers have to activate him.

Dorian Thomspon-Robinson is a HUGE step down from Jameis

• It’s hard not to imagine what Jameis Winston would have done in this matchup. Essentially, DTR gave us all of the interceptions of Jameis Winston without any of the high-volume passing or touchdowns. That left Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore out in the cold as far as production goes, with the two wide receivers posting 10 and 13% target shares, respectively. The only respectable performance on the day came from David Njoku, who had a 33% target share with DTR under center. If DTR gets the start next week, Njoku is likely the only Cleveland pass catcher who can be trusted against a tough Miami secondary.

Jalen ‘Hurts’ Fantasy Championship Aspirations

• Hurts didn’t last a quarter in the playoff semifinals in an absolutely brutal break for fantasy managers and their championship hopes. It’s a concussion for the Eagles star QB, meaning there’s a chance he could miss the fantasy championship as well for teams that were able to survive him missing the majority of the game against the Commanders. Kenny Pickett was able to hyper-target A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith in relief of Hurts and delivered a score to Brown, but he turned in an otherwise lackluster performance. If it’s Pickett against the Cowboys in Week 17, AJB would profile as a fringe WR1, while Smitty would look more the part of a fringe WR2.

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It’s officially Joever for Amari Cooper

• For this season, at least – and potentially all the Bills receivers not named Khalil Shakir. No Bills wide receiver besides Shakir has posted a route participation higher than 80% or a target share over 11% over the past two games, with Amari Cooper running the fewest routes in both games over that span. Cooper, Coleman, and Hollins all can’t be trusted in lineups for the fantasy championship – and that’s if you even made it with one or more of them starting. A tough test against the Jets awaits in Week 17, where Shakir can be a solid WR3 play.

No Playoff James Conner in the Championship?

• Playoff James Conner was alive and well until late in the game – he had a knee injury and didn’t return. He was able to drop 26 points though before exiting, so James Conner – thank you for your services. If he would be out, Michael Carter would be the running back off the waiver wire to target with Emari Demercado and Trey Benson working througy injuries of their own. Carter handled 10 touches and racked up 68 yards on that work after Conner left, so he’d be an fringe RB2 start with upside if all of Conner, Benson, and Demercado are out in Week 17.