Who Should I Start? James Conner or George Pickens

Wednesday, December 25, 10:05 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (knee) was a limited participant during Wednesday's practice. The veteran has maintained the same practice status for two days in a row; he had also been limited in Tuesday's walkthrough. The Cardinals will hold one more practice on Thursday before releasing their final injury report. If Conner can log a full session, he might be able to avoid an official injury designation. Otherwise, he could end up being listed as questionable for Week 17, which would leave his status in doubt until the Cardinals' list of inactives gets released on Saturday evening. Fantasy managers certainly hope that Conner will be able to suit up. He has remained a top fantasy option in his age-29 season, ranking as the RB9 overall with 1,090 rushing yards, 410 receiving yards, and nine total touchdowns. He should continue to be deployed as a top-12 fantasy running backs, assuming he suits up Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Wednesday, December 25, 11:07 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens hauled in just three of his seven targets for 50 yards in a Week 17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers struggled to get much of anything going on offense in this one, but Pickens didn't appear to be hampered by his hamstring injury that kept him sidelined from Weeks 14 through 16. He made an impressive catch for a 41-yard gain on a deep ball from quarterback Russell Wilson and had an 18-yard reception in the fourth quarter called back due to an offside penalty. Although fantasy managers that deployed Pickens in his return were likely let down by this performance, he should still be viewed as a solid WR2 against the Cincinnati Bengals in any leagues that compete in Week 18.