Getty Gallery: 4/5
150-Max Entry Lineup
– CAPTAIN: Ryan Switzer ($6,000)
– JuJu Smith-Schuster ($10,400)
– Keenan Allen ($10,000)
– James Conner ($8,800)
– Austin Ekeler ($8,200)
– Mike Williams ($5,400)
Now is as good a time as any to talk about the Ryan Switzer play. I previously mentioned that he saw a career-high in targets last week, but he also has seemingly taken over as the starting slot receiver. This is a big deal as Switzer will now act as a safety valve for Ben Roethlisberger moving forward.
After the former Dallas Cowboys (then Oakland Raiders) wideout played just 37 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 11, that number jumped to 67 percent last week, per Football Outsiders. Barring Mike Tomlin throwing us a major curveball, this is a great spot for Switzer and he should thrive playing alongside Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
I'm not typically huge on rolling with inexpensive players in the captain spot unless it really looks like a great spot. But if Switzer sees roughly the same number of snaps, he'll be a safe bet for 7-8 targets at least, with the potential to have a huge game if he's able to find the end zone. That's huge for a player who frees up this much money for the rest of the lineup.
And speaking of JuJu Smith-Schuster, I opted to go with him over Antonio Brown in this lineup, partially because I think his ownership will be much lower than Brown. Considering the two are priced semi-close, I love the home run-hitting ability of Smith-Schuster. Tack on the fact that he's now seen 27 targets (21 receptions) in the past two weeks, and he's both safe and explosive.
The pairing of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams provides us with the safe and high upside aspect of the Chargers wideouts, and then the risky but very strong red zone target. The Steelers aren't bad against wideouts but have allowed 1,717 yards and 12 touchdowns to the position this season, so they're beatable.
While Tyrell Williams will play in this game, he may not be 100 percent and if that's the case, it'll mean more work for Mike Williams, who's fresh off a two-touchdown performance. If this game turns into a shootout, the second-year wideout from Clemson should benefit.
The single entry/cash lineup is next up and is built around players who have higher floors and less risk.