Fantasy Football Player Notes

December Derrick is undefeated. Every year, we see Henry carry fantasy teams through the holiday season. With Lamar Jackson looking like a shadow of himself, Henry may be more important than ever if the Ravens want to make the postseason. This week, they have a massive matchup against the Steelers. On the season, the Steelers have been in the top half of the league against fantasy RBs. However, last week, the Bills dominated them with 249 rushing yards. 144 of those came from James Cook, who was given 32 carries. If James Cook can have that kind of day, Henry's managers should be salivating ahead of this game. Having said that, the Steelers have always been one of those teams that find ways to fix their flaws, especially after a historically bad outing. Expect a big game for the king, but don't be surprised if Mike Tomlin sells out against the run after last week's embarrassing performance.

Zay Flowers is the WR31 in fantasy points per game with a 26.2% target share, 63.9 receiving yards per game, 2.22 yards per route run, and a 31.7% first-read share. He has six red zone targets and 12 deep targets. Last week was the first game he hasn't hit double-digit PPR points since Week 6. Flowers has been living in the low-end WR2/high-end WR3 bucket for most of the season. This week, he faces a Pittsburgh pass defense that has utilized single high at the fifth-highest rate (59.8%). Against single high, Flowers has seen his target share increase to 28.4% with 2.66 yards per route run and a 32.7% first-read share. Flowers is a solid flex/WR3 this week despite Jackson's struggles. Since Week 9, Pittsburgh has allowed the 13th-most fantasy points per game and ranked 16th in receiving yards per game against perimeter wide receivers.

Mark Andrews has fallen off a cliff this season as the TE19 in fantasy points per game. He has four TE1 outings this season. In the other weeks, he has been unplayable. Last week was the first time all season that he had more than 40 receiving yards in a game, and most of that came in garbage time. Andrews has a 16.1% target share with 27.7 receiving yards per game, 1.40 yards per route run, and a 21.3% first-read share. He leads the team with ten red zone targets while seeing only one deep target this season. This week, he faces a Pittsburgh pass defense that has utilized single high at the fifth-highest rate (59.8%). Against single high, Andrews has seen his target share increase to 16.7% with 1.84 yards per route run and a 19.5% first-read share. It's a dice roll, but Andrews could finish as a TE1 this week. The Steelers have allowed the seventh-most receiving yards per game and the sixth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends.

On paper, the matchup for Isaiah Likely puts him on the streaming radar, but I wouldn't plug him into a lineup this week. Yes, the Steelers have allowed the seventh-most receiving yards per game and the sixth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends, but the coverage matchup doesn't favor Likely. This week, he faces a Pittsburgh pass defense that has utilized single high at the fifth-highest rate (59.8%). Against single high, Likely has only a 9.6% target share with 1.58 yards per route run and a 9% first-read share. That's not usage that I want to depend on the week before many leagues begin the fantasy playoffs. Could it pay off? Sure, it's possible, but there's an equal chance that he burns you and you're left wishing that you didn't stream him for Week 14.