Who Should I Start? Michael Thomas or George Pickens

Wednesday, September 11, 8:40 PM

The National Football League on Wednesday announced that it has lifted the suspension of free-agent wide receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas was suspended for the first game of the 2024 NFL season for an incident with a construction worker near his home last year. The fact that the 31-year-old remained without a team all offseason is a sign that he may struggle to latch on with an organization despite the fact that he's past his one-game suspension. Just several years ago, Thomas was the best receiver in the league, but injuries have limited him to 20 games since the start of the 2020 campaign, and he played in just 10 games with the New Orleans Saints last year before a knee injury ended his season. He caught 39 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown in 2023. Thomas belongs on the waiver wire in all leagues and is unlikely to be on the fantasy radar in 2024.

Monday, September 16, 12:44 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens finished with just two receptions for 29 yards on four targets in the team's 13-6 win over the Denver Broncos. Although Pickens was quiet for fantasy purposes, this is a case where the box score statistics don't quite tell the whole story. In the second quarter, Pickens came down with an impressive catch on an even better throw by quarterback Justin Fields that was ultimately called back due to holding. On Pittsburgh's next possession, Pickens took a short pass into the endzone for a six-yard score, but an offensive pass interference call on receiver Van Jefferson erased the touchdown. All in all, this was a difficult matchup for Pickens to begin with, so fantasy managers should choose to be optimistic given his usage as the clear WR1 in this offense. Pickens and the Steelers will hope to put more points on the board in their home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.