Pittsburgh Steelers fantasy: Who to start and sit vs. the Patriots

Ben Roethlisberger

I can’t trust him on the road. You shouldn’t either. The offense has lost two of their best weapons and should throw it a lot less this year while focusing more on the run.

Big Ben did rebound a bit last year on the road while becoming the 3rd best QB. If you look at his 2017 stats he did not score over 18 points in Fantasy Football (in 4 point TD leagues). On the road his INTs are up, QB rating, completion percentage, and yards are down.

Sony Michel

There is a saying in Fantasy Football and it is ‘do not play Patriots RBs.’ You never know how the rotation will go. I am suggesting to sit Michel because I have no idea how he will be used. I think you could use him in the flex position or if you don’t have a better option, but I always think it is a risky play.

He was an RB3 last year and there was some buzz in the community that he could make that jump to the upper echelon of RBs….then the Pats drafted Damien Harris? If really depends on where you drafted him but I don’t suggest to start him in any other spot than in your flex spot.

James Washington/Donte Moncrief/Diontae Johnson

Who is number 2? Number 3? I can’t tell you but I believe that it will be Washington (who had a great preseason) or Moncrief for now. I can’t say that this gets resolved this week either but I would watch closely and don’t rule out the rookie Diontae Johnson.

He may need to get up to speed and might not see a ton of production in the month of September. If you have a deep bench or want to stash a guy on your bench he is the one to do it for. I am grabbing him on every team that I can because I have a lot of faith in his abilities to make plays. When you are considering that stash or deep bench play ALWAYS use it on someone with upside.

This week against the Patriots I suggest sitting this trio of WRs until there is more clarity. If you have to start one I would probably pick Washington or Moncrief but I wouldn’t expect more than around 6-8 PPR points. That is not too bad it things work out.

Matt Lacosse

The Patriots love to use their TE but have not really made an attempt to sign or draft anyone that is worth using much more than blocking.

I will say that Bill Belichick is very unpredictable so you never know what his gameplan is, but I would suggest sitting the starter on their website, Matt Lacosse, or any New England tight end. This is another position I would monitor to see how it plays out or if they sign a veteran.

Josh Gordon/Jakobi Meyers/Phillip Dorsett

Chalk this up again to the ‘I don’t know what is going to happen’ sit play. I just don’t know how these WRs will be used. I would suggest tossing a dart here if you needed a start someone but I know the consensus is probably Josh Gordon.

He hasn’t played much so I don’t think you can trust him but I know that there a lot of teams with him in their starting lineup. I don’t have him on any of my teams so I am not taking the risk but I would try to wait to start him if you can but some people love his talent.

I said this should be a great game and you are probably wondering why if the Patriots have dominated these matchups? I just think there are some great reasons for optimism if you are a Steelers fan.

Pittsburgh won the last matchup and they are a much better team without the distractions of players dominating the media. The Steelers are a better ‘team’ in my opinion and will play more for each other with a common goal. I am really looking forward to this one.