George Pickens will be on bye during Week 9, but he is a must-buy for your fantasy roster. Pickens was inches away from a two-touchdown performance against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football but ended the game with a pedestrian four receptions for 74 yards. Despite a lackluster performance in a surprisingly high-octane game, and despite going on bye in Week 9, George Pickens is someone you should be actively targeting in your fantasy leagues.
You Must Trade for George Pickens
Looking into the Future
Since Russell Wilson took the job from Justin Fields in Week 7, the Steeler’s offense has scored 37 and 26 points respectively. More importantly, the passing volume and market share for Pittsburgh has improved. With Fields under center, the Steelers were passing, on average, 26 times a game while Wilson is closer to 30. In the red zone, despite the struggles on Monday Night, Wilson is hyper-targeting Pickens. Pickens, per NFLSavant.com, is second in the NFL in red zone targets with 15. He had two red zone targets on Monday Night that were called incomplete because of a penalty and Pickens just barely got his second foot down in the endzone. @NFLRetweet has the video below
George Pickens TD has been reversed and ruled out of bounds because he couldn’t get his 2nd foot down 😳
pic.twitter.com/LGJDT9e9Ag— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) October 29, 2024
With the Steelers increasing their passing volume while continuing to pepper Pickens with targets near the painted area, George Pickens should continue his solid season. However, the reason he elevated from a solid season to a must-trade target is his post-bye schedule.
Per YahooFantasyFootball.com, George Pickens has one of the most advantageous schedules for quarterbacks and receivers after his bye. Pickens gets to play Washington (9th), Baltimore (2nd), Cleveland (6th), Cincinnati (16th), Cleveland (6th), Philadelphia (8th), and Baltimore (2nd). The numbers in parentheses are the ranking of how advantageous the matchup is for opposing passing offenses.
Thus far, Pickens has played a challenging schedule without facing a bottom 10 defense and is the receiver 22 in full PPR scoring. But, with his improved quarterback, easy upcoming schedule, and continued end zone targets, Pickens is poised to have a massive 2nd half of the year. Since George Pickens is on bye this week, the fantasy manager in your league may be more willing to trade him for a lesser player who will actually play this week. Go get a guy that can win you your league.