Who Should I Start? Jonnu Smith or Connor Heyward

Sunday, January 11, 12:12 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith (glute) was a full participant in practice on Saturday and was cleared from the final injury report, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio. Smith will be active for the Wild-Card matchup against the visiting Houston Texans on Monday night. Even though Darnell Washington (forearm) is done for the year due to injury, Smith is a hard sell for starting fantasy football lineups in playoff formats, especially with receiver DK Metcalf returning from a two-game suspension. The 30-year-old Smith had only one catch on two targets for two yards in the team's Week 18 regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, and he caught only 38 passes during the regular season for 222 yards and two touchdowns. If you are going to use a TE from Pittsburgh this weekend, it should be Pat Freiermuth.

Friday, November 3, 12:12 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Connor Heyward caught two of his three targets for 16 yards in the team's 20-16 win over the visiting Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, fellow tight end Darnell Washington caught his only target for a seven-yard gain. Heyward caught a season-high five passes (six targets) for 24 yards in last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars with Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) on Injured Reserve, but he couldn't keep up that elevated production in Week 9. Freiermuth will miss at least two more games, but fantasy managers just won't be able to trust Heyward for consistent production in one of the weaker offenses in the league. The 24-year-old has just 14 receptions for 105 yards and no touchdowns in eight games in 2023.