The Steelers against the Colts is on nobody’s Christmas list, but the NFL is delivering it regardless. Both teams have lost their starting quarterback to injury so this one promises to be a bit of a scrappy affair. The Steelers seemed to be getting somewhere after firing Matt Canada but then Kenny Pickett got injured and they seem to be back to square one. The Colts are at the mercy of what we like to call the Gardner Minshew phenomenon. He looks like a cartoon character and sometimes he does play football like a superhero. But in other games, he can be the supervillain. With all those injuries there are bound to be some undervalued DraftKings DFS bargains to be had.
DraftKings DFS Bargains Saturday Evening
The “110% Guy” Pick – Connor Heyward
I might love him more than some of his family members do, but he’s the sort of player who will always give his all. It was a surprise the Steelers didn’t use him more often with Trubisky starting his first game of the season. He caught both his targets and gained 15 yards while doing so. He also gained a first down and on the two passes Trubisky threw him he had a passer rating of 97.9. Overall, Trubisky had a passer rating of 74.7.
Only 6 teams have allowed more DraftKings DFS points to tight ends than the Colts in 2023. And they are allowing tight ends to gain 10.2 yards per catch. If the Steelers are smart (and after last week that’s a tricky question to answer) they’ll use both Heyward and Freiermuth a lot in the passing game.
The “Something A Bit Different” DraftKings DFS Pick – Calvin Austin
He’s the gadget guy and the Steelers are going to need something different. Last week they averaged 8.6 yards per completed pass but only completed 3 of 14 3rd down attempts. So, the offense stalled on a regular basis.
25-year-old Austin is averaging 8.5 yards per touch this season. Getting the ball in his hands more often will provide the offense with more chunk plays and keep them away from those 3rd downs they had so much trouble with last week. He’ll be the 6th or 7th most expensive receiver in this game. And with the Colts conceding an average of 32.1 DraftKings DFS points per game there is a good chance Austin will score double-digit points for the first time since Week 3.
The Bargain Tight End Pick – Mo Alie-Cox
This looks like a good game to be a tight end. The Colts defense has pressured opposing quarterbacks 111 times already this season. And the Steelers have recorded 115, cue the color commentator yelling “he’s gotta get the ball out of his hands quicker”. And that’s where the tight ends come in handy.
Cox has seen some pretty sporadic usage this season. But that’s what makes him a bargain, he’ll be cheaper than Freiermuth and Granson and maybe even cheaper than Heyward too. In his last 6 games, he’s seen 5 targets and caught 3 of them. This is hardly exciting, but in those games, he’s racked up 43 yards and a touchdown. And they’re up against a Steelers defense that is down to the bare bones of their linebacking corps. The Colts’ pass catchers should exploit the middle of the field, especially on short routes like Zeke Elliott did last week.
The More Obvious Tight End DraftKings DFS Pick – Kylen Granson
He’s like Cox, but he’s seen a lot more action this season. Granson has caught 22 of his 38 targets this season. But he’s still only caught 1 touchdown, like Cox has.
The Steelers are allowing 12.3 DraftKings DFS points per game to tight ends and they have conceded 5 touchdowns to tight ends this season. For context, the most touchdowns allowed to tight ends this season is 7. Hunter Henry caught 2 against the Steelers last week.
The Technically Not A Bargain Pick – Alec Pierce
Pierce isn’t a tight end but he is one big dude. And he should be operating in the slot or running crossing routes a lot. So, he’ll find himself in the space between the Steelers replacement linebackers. Unless they realize they need more DBs on the field (which they didn’t last week). Pierce has only scored once this season, but he is averaging 15.3 yards per touch in 2023. Pierce may not be the cheapest bargain in this DraftKings DFS game but there will be 4 receivers more expensive than him.
Main Photo: [Philip G. Pavely] – USA Today Sports
