Who Should I Start? Jonnu Smith or Pat Freiermuth

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.

Monday, January 12, 6:37 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth had very limited fantasy football upside in 2025 while sharing TE duties with both Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington (forearm). He finished as the TE24 in half-PPR scoring in 16 regular-season games, with 41 catches on 54 targets for 486 yards and four touchdowns. Freiermuth and Smith should have slightly bigger roles going into the playoffs on Wild-Card weekend on Monday night against the Houston Texans with Washington out, but the 27-year-old still isn't an ideal option for fantasy managers in a bad matchup. Freiermuth did finish the regular season strong with six catches on 10 targets for 114 yards in the final two games, but he hasn't scored since Nov. 23. The Texans have the No. 1 defense in the league, and they've allowed only 775 receiving yards (seventh-fewest) and eight TDs all year to the tight end position.