Who Should I Start? George Pickens or Ricky Pearsall

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.

Saturday, December 13, 6:08 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall will be hard to trust this week, given his recent production. In the three games since returning from a PCL injury, Pearsall has just five receptions total for 20 yards. Before the injury, Pearsall averaged five catches and 81.8 yards per game while George Kittle and Jauan Jennings were limited or out due to injuries of their own. Now that both are back to full health, Pearsall seems to be the odd man out. The former Florida Gator has a good matchup with the Titans, who have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to wide receivers, but his post-injury output makes him a risky bet to suddenly jump ahead of Kittle, Jennings, and Christian McCaffrey in the pecking order of pass-catchers. Pearsall projects as a WR5 in Week 15 and is probably better left on the bench on Sunday.