Who Should I Start? Allen Lazard or Justin Fields

Saturday, September 6, 11:24 AM

New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard can't be trusted in fantasy for this week's home tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Lazard enters his third season with the Jets, a member of the team by way of longtime ex-teammate Aaron Rodgers. He was productive early in 2024, but fell victim to a chest injury and struggled to produce after the team acquired star wide receiver Davante Adams at the halfway point. Adams is gone, but Lazard still occupies the WR3 role on the team behind Garrett Wilson and first-year Jet Josh Reynolds. Furthermore, New York's projected propensity to run the ball could leave targets outside of Wilson sparse, and running back Breece Hall is a threat through the air, too. The former Green Bay Packer's standing in the pecking order - and an overall smaller passing pie - leave him on the outside looking in regarding the Jets' passing attack for now. He's RotoBaller's PPR WR114 for his outing with the Steelers.

Saturday, September 6, 10:44 AM

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields will face stiff competition in Week 1 when he squares off against his former team, the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. New York's offense figures to take a run-centric approach this season, and that includes their new signal caller, who is capable of wondrous fantasy feats with his legs. His prowess as a thrower, however, is the asset in question, as Fields has yet to completely take the reins of an offense using primarily his arm. Whether that takes place in 2025 remains to be seen, but the 26-year-old could have trouble finding room on the ground during his first appearance in Jets green. Pittsburgh was a top-12 unit against opposing ground attacks in 2024 (109.8 yards per game), and they yielded the seventh-fewest points per game (20.8). Fields comes in at RotoBaller's QB8 this week due to his upside as a rusher, but fantasy managers will want to temper expectations in a contest with the lowest projected combined point total of the week (38.5).