If you’re like me, you’re anxiously waiting for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant to return from suspension and put up some serious fantasy football numbers. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait a few more weeks and get by in the meantime by exploiting the matchups that are out there.
In Week 1 the Steelers had several players put on impressive fantasy performances. Despite a slow start, Ben Roethlisberger wound up posting 351 passing yards and a touchdown.
Antonio Brown did the whole Antonio Brown thing by dropping 133 yards and six points on the Patriots and making it look easy.
The big surprise of the night came in the form of veteran running back DeAngelo Williams, who turned back the clock and blasted New England on the ground for 127 yards on six yards per carry.
Looking ahead to their Week 2 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, here’s who I would be inclined to start and sit.
Start:
– Ben Roethlisberger is a consistent fantasy producer week in and week out. The 49ers defense made the Vikings offense look completely ineffectual, but Teddy Bridgewater is not in the same league as Big Ben, who shouldn’t have a problem lighting up the scoreboard.
– Antonio Brown is an easy start no matter which team he’s going against.
– Markus Wheaton made a few impressive sideline catches last week. Look for him to eat going against a 49ers defense that lost both of their starting cornerbacks from last year to free agency.
– Anquan Boldin is likely to go off for a huge game, considering how bad Pittsburgh’s secondary looked last week.
– Torrey Smith was quiet against Minnesota, but I think he’ll rebound. Cortez Allen had a hell of a time trying to contain Julian Edelman on the outside. Smith is a different breed of athlete and he’ll be roasting the Steelers DBs all day.
Sit:
– DeAngelo Williams ran all over the Patriots, but one thing the 49ers have been able to do well over the last several seasons is stop the run. Last week they limited Adrian Peterson to just 31 yards on 10 carries. Williams is not the back you want to start this week.
– Colin Kaepernick appears to be maturing. He didn’t make any of his usual stupid reads against Minnesota, so maybe all that training with Kurt Warner is paying off. Even still, I don’t think he’ll be able to run on the Steelers the way he was able to against the Vikings. Their linebackers are simply too fast and too talented to let him go off. Kap’s passing numbers should be fine but if you’re looking for a dual threat quarterback Week 2 he’s not your guy.
– Vernon Davis was targeted more than any other Niners receiver last week and he still didn’t look good. He caught three of six passes for 47 yards. Stick a fork in him. His fantasy value is all but gone.
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