Who Should I Start? George Pickens or Zay Flowers

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, 11:11 AM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers finally returned to WR1 territory last week for the first time since his Week 1 outburst against the Buffalo Bills. Even though he finally broke the streak of non-WR1 finishes, he still hasn't found the end zone since the first game of the season. The encouraging part is that he received 11 targets against the Pittsburgh Steelers and hauled in eight of those for 124 yards. Their Week 15 opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, have been a bit more stingy to opposing receivers in fantasy this year. The Bengals rank as the toughest defense against the position over the last four weeks, giving up an average of 15.13 fantasy points per game. The last time Flowers faced the Bengals in Week 13, he finished as the WR106. He projects as a low-end WR2 in this matchup, but it probably doesn't feel great for fantasy managers that need him.