Steelers vs. Browns Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em for Week 3 NFL 'Thursday Night Football'

Vinnie Iyer

Steelers vs. Browns Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em for Week 3 NFL 'Thursday Night Football' image

When the Steelers and Browns face each other in Cleveland to begin Week 3 on "Thursday Night Football" (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video), there should be limited fantasy football points on the table. The game has a very low Vegas total of 38.5, but there are still some players that can get you on your way to winning your matchup.

The good news is neither team has offensive skill injuries of note going into the matchup. The bad news that quarterbacks Mitchell Trubisky and Jacoby Brissett and the defenses limit the scoring upside of both teams.

With all that in mind, here's breaking down the entire start 'em sit 'em picture for Thursday night, including a couple DFS lineup suggestions for FanDuel and DraftKings:

WEEK 3 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

Steelers: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night

Sit: QB Mitchell Trubisky

Trubisky has no streaming appeal at all given he's struggling to pass for at least 200 yards in a game without much TD potential. Fantasy owners can continue to wait for rookie Kenny Pickett to help Pittsburgh's receivers and also have some standalone value.

WEEK 3 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

Start: RB Najee Harris

Harris has been battling his foot injury to keep playing, but the numbers haven't been there so far. He has one TD from Week 1, but he's totaled just 115 scrimmage yards on 32 touches in two games. The blocking hasn't been improved inside as expected, and it's been easy to load the box with no threat of a deep passing game. You still play him again because of volume, but keep in mind Cleveland has a tough run defense, so receiving and scoring will be key.

Start: WR Diontae Johnson | Sit: WRs Chase Claypool and George Pickens

Johnson hasn't put up big numbers with Trubisky, catching a combined 13-of-22 targets for just 112 TD-less yards. That volume and target share make it clear he's the No. 1, though, and he should have a better game against the Browns' secondary. Claypool and Pickens can remain big-play afterthoughts until Pickett is in there.

WEEK 3 DFS: Best values | Best stacks

Start: TE Pat Freiermuth 

Freiermuth is off to a hot start. He caught five-of-10 targets for 75 yards in Week 1. He was quiet in Week 2 with only four catches on seven targets for 22 yards, but he found the end zone. In a landscape where there's a major tight end drop-off after the top-tier studs, he's an easy (almost) every-week TE1.

WEEK 3 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

Sit: Steelers D/ST

Pittsburgh's defense was amazing in Week 1 vs. Joe Burrow, but that was with T.J. Watt (pec) healthy and wreaking havoc for most of it. Things got a lot tougher minus Watt in New England. Given the Browns are so run-heavy, there will be limited chances for sacks and takeaways.

Sit: K Chris Boswell

You cannot start a field-goal artist on the road attached to this offense.

WEEK 3 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo

Browns: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night

Sit: QB Jacoby Brissett

As expected, Brissett has been a caretaker with Deshaun Watson out. He's there to make a few clutch intermediate throws playing off the run when needed while the running backs dominate.

Start: RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt

Chubb has smashed early with 228 yards rushing with three TDs. Hunt scored twice in Week 1 and has 144 scrimmage yards over two games. They are the bread and butter of the Browns attack until Watson returns. The Steelers' defense remains very vulnerable against the run, even more so without Watt.

MORE TNF: DraftKings lineup | FanDuel lineup

Start: WR Amari Cooper

Cooper had a terrible Browns debut with three catches for 17 yards in Week 1. He looked more like himself in Week 2 with nine catches, 101 yards and a TD on 10 targets vs. the Jets. The Steelers have given up some big wideout games early to Ja'Marr Chase and Nelson Agholor. Cooper should produce a solid night.

Sit: WR Donovan Peoples-Jones

This offense is incapable of supporting multiple receivers per week until Watson returns. DPJ led the team easily in Week 1 with 6 catches for 60 yards on 11 targets. In Week 2, he was blanked on one target, which was in the end zone.

Sit: TEs David Njoku and Harrison Bryant

Njoku has gone from having preseason hype to being the same old committee tight end with Bryant this time instead of Austin Hooper. Bryant is getting more run all of a sudden. You're rolling the dice on a TD playing either of them.

Start: Browns D/ST

Myles Garrett has three sacks in two games. The Browns' defense has looked dominant half the time and average in allowing the Panthers and Jets to come back in games. The Steelers don't have that kind of firepower, and Garrett should lead the attack going to town up front.

Start: K Cade York

York is tied for fourth in kicker points so far with Boswell, but in this particular matchup, the rookie is the easier one to trust, likely being on the winning and higher field-goal scoring side.

Steelers vs. Browns: FanDuel single-game lineup

  • MVP (1.5X): RB Nick Chubb $16,000
  • AnyFLEX: RB Kareem Hunt $13,000
  • AnyFLEX: WR Diontae Johnson $12,000
  • AnyFLEX: TE Pat Freiermuth $10,500
  • AnyFLEX: K Cade York $8,500

Chubb has the be the centerpiece here with a strong side of Hunt. Johnson and Freiermuth have been the only viable Steelers offensive assets early. York figures to be busy in a field-goal game.

Steelers vs. Browns: DraftKings Showdown lineup

  • Captain (1.5X): RB Nick Chubb $18,000
  • FLEX: QB Jacoby Brissett $8,800
  • FLEX: RB Kareem Hunt $7,600
  • FLEX: TE Pat Freiermuth $7,000
  • FLEX: TE Harrison Bryant $4,600
  • FLEX: Browns D/ST $3,800

Here's the Chubb-Hunt-Freiermuth combination against with some variety. Brissett and Bryant is an interesting stack given the latter's increased usage in Week 2. The Browns' defense should rack up some numbers vs. Trubisky with Garrett (neck) set to be active.

Vinnie Iyer

Vinnie Iyer Photo

Vinnie Iyer, has been with TSN since 1999, not long after graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has produced NFL content for more than 20 years, turning his attention to full-time writing in 2007. A native of St. Louis, Mo. but now a long-time resident of Charlotte, N.C. Vinnie’s top two professional sports teams are Cardinals and Blues, but he also carries purple pride for all things Northwestern Wildcats. He covers every aspect of the NFL for TSN including player evaluations, gambling and fantasy football, where he is a key contributor. Vinnie represents TSN as host of the “Locked On Fantasy Football” podcast on the Locked On network. Over his many years at TSN, he’s also written about MLB, NBA, NASCAR, college football, tennis, horse racing, film and television. His can’t-miss program remains “Jeopardy!”, where he was once a three-day champion and he is still avid about crossword puzzles and trivia games. When not watching sports or his favorite game show, Vinnie is probably watching a DC, Marvel or Star Wars-related TV or movie.