Who Should I Start? George Pickens or Rashid Shaheed

Friday, December 12, 7:47 PM

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is coming off one of the worst showings of his breakout season, but he is still worth viewing as a WR1 in all formats when he faces the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. Last Thursday, Pickens brought in just five of his nine targets for a mere 37 yards. This was his lowest total since Week 1, when he tallied only 30 yards on three receptions. His production last week was quite disappointing as the team's No. 1 WR, CeeDee Lamb, exited with a concussion. Still, Pickens was unable to connect with quarterback Dak Prescott. However, managers should continue to view Pickens as a must-start option as he enters Week 15 as the overall WR2 in PPR scoring despite his Week 14 dud. During Weeks 11 through 13, Pickens averaged an elite 24.6 PPR points per game and totaled 126 yards per game with two receiving scores. Overall, Pickens has found the back of the end zone eight times, which is the same number of times he found the end zone as a Steeler during the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined. Despite facing an elite Minnesota secondary that enters the fantasy playoffs allowing the fewest PPR points to opposing WRs, and Lamb cleared for action, Pickens still carries immense upside in all formats and is a must-start WR1 in all league types.

Tuesday, December 16, 1:18 PM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed had five catches for 74 yards on seven targets in the Week 15 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Shaheed hadn't been a big part of the offense in the first four games after being acquired from the New Orleans Saints at the trade deadline, playing 47.9% of the snaps and totalling just four receptions for 37 yards on 11 targets. His role has expanded in the past two games as he's gotten more acclimated in the offense, with nine catches for 141 yards on 12 targets. Notably, his snap share spiked to 68.3% in Week 15, his highest mark with Seattle by 12 percentage points. Shaheed's 18.2% target share in the past two weeks is second only to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Seattle, and his big-play ability makes him worth a look off the waiver wire, as he could be in for a nice finish to the season.