Playing a team for a third time in a season can be often be a bit unpredictable. It becomes even more of a fantasy football mystery for DFS enthusiasts when the two teams involved have one of the physical, hard-nosed rivalries in all of football.
In the final chapter of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens story of the 2024 season, here are my top 5 DFS options for their matchup on Wild Card Weekend.
1. Derrick Henry
All fantasy players must pay homage to the greatness of Derrick Henry. At age 30, it would have been easy to write off Henry as in the twilight of his excellent career, but Henryâs excellent play in his first year with the Ravens has many wondering if he can do this for another five years.
Henry has averaged a career best 5.91 yards per carry at age 30 over 325 rushing attempts. That⦠is not human.
Henry has averaged a touchdown per game in his first year with the Ravens and is the leading ball carrier of an explosive offense that generates an average of four trips to the red zone per game â which makes him a solid RB1 option for DFS squad regardless of format.
If those numbers arenât enough to convince you, Iâd like to remind you that Henry ran circles over this exact same Steelers defense with 162 yards on just 24 carries back in Week 16. My advice⦠Find a way to get Henry in your DFS lineup.
2. Lamar Jackson
Traditionally, Lamar Jackson hasnât exactly torched the Steelers defense like he normally tortures the rest of the league, but he finally had a breakthrough performance in Week 16 with 207 yards and three scores through the air against his division rival.
We all thought the 2023 version of Lamar Jackson was the best weâve even seen from him. Somehow, heâs managed to be even better in 2024.
Just take a peek at the production from his MVP season in 2023.
Lamar Jackson 2023 Stats
Passing
Yards: 3,678
TD: 24
INT: 7
Rushing
Yards: 821
TD: 5
Now, take a look at his production from 2024.
Lamar Jackson 2024 Stats
Passing
Yards: 4,172
TD: 41
INT: 4
Rushing
Yards: 915
TD: 4
Whether the Ravens are leaning on Henry in the running game with a positive game script or Lamar is asked to carry the offense with his arm and legs in negative game scripts â Jackson has been an elite fantasy option in 2024.
Although T.J. Watt and the Steelers are capable of presenting Lamar with some issues, Iâm not shying away from deploying Jackson as my DFS signal caller in this contest.
3. Rashod Bateman
Zay Flowers deserves his flowers â pun intended â for his great season, but he has just been ruled out for this Wild Card Weekend matchup against the Steelers.
This means Rashod Bateman should see plenty of work â if not an expanded role â against Pittsburgh.
Batemanâs numbers against the Steelers havenât been great this year with just three receptions for 34 yards and a score in his two games against Pittsburgh, but DFS enthusiasts should not overlook the production weâve seen from Rashod Bateman in 2024 entering this game.
Bateman has produced career high marks both in the receiving yards (756) and receiving touchdown (9) departments â scoring a receiving touchdown every five receptions through this entire season.
The volume doesnât exactly have the weekly target volume of other top options on the slate, but Flowers absence should raise that target volume enough to make a solid option here.
4. Jaylen Warren
At times, I get frustrated on Jaylen Warrenâs behalf without him having to ask me to do so.
Jaylen Warren is really starting to heat up as an explosive spark out of this backfield over the back half of the season. Since Week 11, Warren has produced 9+ fantasy points in full-PPR formats in five of his last eight games.
Much of this jump in production has threw the passing game, where he has caught 26 passes during that stretch â which elevates his floor in full-PPR formats like DraftKings.
The explosive plays have been starting to come a bit more often since he has fully recovered from the hamstring and knee injuries that plagued the start of his 2024 campaign â which could him a valuable DFS asset if the Steelers find themselves in a negative game script similar to Week 16 where Warren scored 14.2 fantasy points with 92 yards of 17 total touchees.
5. Mark Andrews
Can we all agree to put Mark Andrews slow start to the season in the rearview mirror for the rest of this postseason?
I get it, Andrews catching six passes on just nine targets through the first four games of the year was rough, but the veteran tight end has done but avenge that slow start over the next 13 games by catching 49 passes for 608 yards and 11 TDs.
Despite Andrews scoring for the first time in 11 games against Pittsburgh back in Week 16, the fact Flowers is on the shelf for this matchup means Andrews could see an uptick in volume in the passing game â which definitely should put him on your TE radar for your DFS lineup.
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