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George Pickens Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Shark Bites are the latest fantasy football news & NFL updates. Draft Sharks has been in business since 1999. And when we started, redraft was the dominant form of fantasy football. Check out what we've learned about this most basic form of fantasy football along the way.

Steelers WR George Pickens recorded catches of 44 and 37 yards against an injury-riddled Jets secondary. In total, Pickens led the team in targets (9), catches (5) and yards (111) while scoring his first TD of 2024.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson is receiving the first-team reps at practice this week, putting him in line to start Sunday night's game vs. the Jets. Justin Fields has been the QB for the first six weeks and helped Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record, but Wilson will now get his shot.

Steelers WR George Pickens played just 34 of the team's 58 offensive snaps in Sunday night's loss to the Cowboys. HC Mike Tomlin said afterward that it was merely a load-management move.

Steelers WR George Pickens posted a strong receiving day in Sunday's loss to the Colts. He set season highs in targets (11), receptions (7), and receiving yards (113). Pickens drew a target on 32.4% of QB Justin Fields' 34 pass attempts and contributed 36.2% of the team's total receiving yards. The lone TD pass went to TE Pat Freiermuth.

Steelers WR George Pickens took a step back in a Week 2 win over Denver. After a dynamic opener, the young WR managed only 2 catches for 29 yards on Sunday. However, Pickens came close to a huge fantasy day.

Steelers WR George Pickens caught 6 of his 7 targets for 85 yards from QB Justin Fields in Week 1 against the Falcons. Though the Steelers did not score a TD in the game, Pickens was a heavy part of the passing game.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson (calf) is inactive for today’s opener vs. the Falcons. He was pushing to play, but the team will hold him out after he aggravated his calf injury in practice this week. QB Justin Fields gets the start for Pittsburgh and is a more exciting fantasy option than Wilson. But Fields dings the fantasy value of the Steelers’ skill-position players. See where they all sit in the Week 1 Rankings.

Steelers QB Justin Fields is "more likely" than QB Russell Wilson to start Sunday's opener vs. the Falcons, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says. A final decision on Wilson's status hasn't yet been made, Rapoport adds. Wilson is scheduled to go through a workout on Saturday. But Rapoport notes that Wilson didn't do much in Friday's practice, while Fields took all the first-team reps.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson (calf) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s opener vs. the Falcons. He experienced discomfort with his troublesome calf on Thursday and was limited again in Friday’s practice.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson will start against the Falcons in Week 1, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. Wilson missed a chunk of August with a calf injury, which seemingly cracked the door open for QB Justin Fields to steal the starting job. But Fields underwhelmed in the preseason. So Pittsburgh will go with Wilson at least for the opener.

The Steelers and 49ers have a deal on a potential trade and a new contract is in a good place for Aiyuk, the 49ers just need to sign off to get the deal done.The 49ers appear to be waiting on their contract offer to Aiyuk in hopes he will accept.

ESPN's Adam Schefter believes Justin Fields has gained some ground on Russell Wilson in the race for the Steelers' starting QB job. Fields has "gotten better at practice every day," per Schefter, while Wilson missed a few days with his calf injury. "I think Russell Wilson remains in the pole position, but I also think that Justin Fields has opened some eyes, and they see the type of offense they could have," Schefter said.

Steelers WR George Pickens has been lining up in the slot more in new OC Arthur Smith's offense. Pickens played just 15.4% of his snaps inside as a rookie in 2022 and 16.9% last year. It sounds like that number will rise considerably in 2024.

The Panthers acquired WR Diontae Johnson and a seventh-round pick from the Steelers in exchange for CB Donte Jackson and a sixth-rounder, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. It's a relatively cheap price to pay for a guy with 332 catches over the past four seasons. Johnson's production has largely been volume-based, though. His 6.7 yards per target over those last four years ranks 67th among 71 WRs with 200+ total targets during that stretch. Johnson didn't rank better 23rd in yards per route in any of those seasons. That said, he immediately becomes the Panthers' clear No. 1 WR. And Carolina figures to throw it a bunch more than the Arthur Smith-led Steelers. QB play is a concern, of course, after Bryce Young's ugly rookie season. But the move is still a win for Johnson's 2024 fantasy value. In Pittsburgh, meanwhile, George Pickens will likely get a crack at No. 1 WR duties. The Steelers will certainly be adding to the WR corps this offseason, though. And Arthur Smith's run-heavy offense will keep Pickens' upside capped.

The Steelers are set to hire Arthur Smith as their new OC, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Smith, of course, is coming off a baffling and underwhelming three-year tenure as Falcons HC, compiling a 21-30 record and oftentimes mismanaging his offensive talent. Smith, though, was much more successful as Titans OC in 2019 and 2020. Both of those teams ranked top-12 in both total yards and points, leaning on RB Derrick Henry to finish top-3 in rushing yards both years. We'd expect Smith to bring a run-heavy offense to Pittsburgh -- especially considering the team's questions at QB.

The Steelers-Bills game originally scheduled for 1 pm ET on Sunday has been moved to 4:30 pm ET on Monday. Buffalo is expecting heavy snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph on Sunday. The forecast for Monday calls for light snow, sustained winds around 15 mph, and gusts up to 30 mph. That's still tough weather for the passing and kicking games -- but significantly better than it would have been on Sunday. We're adjusting our projections for this game.

Steelers WR George Pickens paid off again, hauling in 7 catches on 9 targets for 131 receiving yards and a TD in Week 17 vs. the Seahawks. The second-year wideout’s efforts mark the fifth time this season that he’s surpassed the 100-yard mark and the fourth instance in which Pickens totaled 20+ PPR points per game. His big-play upside has been clear. But the QB play has been poor, and Pickens has struggled to find regularly strong target shares. A QB change could boost Pickens' dynasty value. For now, it’s appropriate to treat him as a low-end WR3.

Steelers WR George Pickens hauled in 4 of 6 targets for 195 receiving yards and 2 TDs vs. the Bengals in Week 16. His yardage in Saturday’s contest ranks as the third-highest single-game total in 2023 to date and also marks the fourth time this season that Pickens has exceeded 100 receiving yards. The second-year wideout has struggled to find consistency all season, though it’s possible he and QB Mason Rudolph will be able to build upon their newfound rapport in Week 17 vs. the Seahawks (13th-best WR matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed). Pickens will be worth considering as a WR3/flex option.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Thursday afternoon that Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (ankle) has been officially ruled out for Week 16 vs. the Bengals. Although Pickett had been able to log limited practice participation on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was widely anticipated that he would not make his return this week. HC Mike Tomlin had already named Mason Rudolph as the team's starter for Saturday several days ago, which lines up with our projections. Unless you are in desperation mode, it's best to leave Rudolph out of fantasy lineups. See where he lands in our current QB rankings.

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