Following their grueling win over the Tennessee Titans, the Pittsburgh Steelers are onto another tough game. They’ll go on the road to face their division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, with first place in the AFC North on the line. Baltimore’s defense has been among the best in the NFL this season. Pittsburgh’s offense won’t blow anyone away statistically, but they have been effective. With the way Ben Roethlisberger spreads out his targets, it’s hard to project which Steelers receiver will be a good fantasy option any given week. But against the Ravens, look for Eric Ebron to potentially be a good fantasy option.
Eric Ebron Fantasy Outlook For Week 8
In last week’s game with the Titans, Roethlisberger looked to Ebron as a safety blanket multiple times. He was targeted a total of eight times in the game, catching six balls for 50 yards, including a 22-yard reception on third and long. With a tough Baltimore defense across the line of scrimmage, the Steelers could find themselves needing conversions on third and long consistently throughout the game. Baltimore’s cornerbacks are very solid and they are paired with a good pass rush. That adds up to potential problems with targeting wide receivers on third down. Roethlisberger might not have the time to let them get open against the likes of Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. That’s where Eric Ebron comes in.
Ravens Defense Against Tight Ends
The Ravens haven’t been bad against tight ends this year by any means. They’re allowing five receptions and 55 yards per game to tight ends, ranking them in the middle of the pack around the league. Compared to their cornerbacks, the Ravens are much weaker at the linebacker position. Again, they aren’t bad, but there’s more potential to expose them than Humphrey, Peters, and company. Fans have seen enough from the Steelers offense to know that they will get their yards and points. If it doesn’t come from the wide receivers, it will come from somewhere. Eric Ebron will likely be one of the guys that needs to step up.
Week 8 Utilization
Pittsburgh’s wide receivers are a very talented group. And even though the Ravens have a very proficient cornerback group, it will still be a tough matchup. Baltimore will probably need some help from their safeties throughout the game. That should open up some opportunities for Ebron to get one-on-one matchups with linebackers that Roethlisberger will definitely look to exploit. Big Ben will look to Ebron on third down and more importantly for fantasy purposes, he’ll look to Ebron in the red zone. And those underneath, safety blanket type of targets will really add up for Ebron over the course of the game.
Last Word
With the quality of Baltimore’s defense, don’t look for Ebron to explode for over 100 yards and multiple touchdowns. The Steelers don’t utilize him in a way that makes a stat line of those sorts likely. But as a relatively cheap DFS option, Ebron could be a sneaky play with a decently high floor and some upside.
Eric Ebron Week 8 projections: eight targets, five receptions, 48 receiving yards, one touchdown, 15.8 PPR fantasy points.
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