Who Should I Start? George Pickens or Demario Douglas

Friday, November 22, 11:23 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens came down with four of his seven targets for 48 yards in a 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Outside of a 31-yard deep ball he caught in the first quarter, it was a relatively quiet night for Pickens, who had four straight showings with over 70 yards heading into Thursday night. The weather conditions in Cleveland weren't ideal for big plays downfield and surely impacted Pickens' performance. While Pickens has been incredibly productive with yardage this season, his touchdown upside is limited in this Steelers offense that has struggled to find the end zone over the past two weeks. He'll look to get back on track against another divisional opponent in the Cincinnati Bengals next week.

Friday, November 22, 10:18 AM

New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas remains a viable fantasy football option for Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins. Douglas has maintained a steady role on offense lately, bringing his season totals to 43 catches, 415 yards, and one touchdown. He's on pace to break the statistical marks from his rookie campaign last year, both on a full-season and per-game basis. In addition to Douglas' year-long productivity, he also played quite well in his last matchup against the Dolphins back in Week 5. During that meeting, Douglas turned in one of his better performances of the season, catching six of nine targets for 59 yards. Miami has allowed the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this year, but that number is likely skewed from the four-game stretch for which Tua Tagovailoa was sidelined; during that span, opponents adopted a run-heavy approach against the Dolphins and did not have to develop an overly aggressive passing attack. This Miami team allowed Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp to combine for 16 catches and 178 yards just two weeks ago. Douglas isn't on the same level as either Rams receiver, but the bottom line is that the Dolphins have shown they aren't going to shut down every pass-catcher they face (including Douglas when they faced him back on October 6.) Douglas is a viable WR3/FLEX option in fantasy leagues with at least 12 teams.