Fantasy Football: Which Pittsburgh Steelers to start and sit vs. the 49ers

Week 1 Rushing Stats: 21 car/127 yds

Week 1 Receiving Stats: 1 rec/5 yds

Week 1 Avg Position Rank: 15

Week 1 NFL.com Points: 13.20

Week 1 Yahoo Points: 13.20

Verdict: Start as an RB2

Analysis: Barring an injury to Le'Veon Bell or the aforementioned running back finding a bag of the chronic in the back of his locker and getting busted for partyin' like it's 1999, this should be the last game that the 32-year-old Williams will carry the full load.

Although he did not find the end zone, DWill impressed by collecting 127 rushing yards on 21 carries for an average of 6 ypc in his debut with the Steelers. However, the Steelers are not expected to run at will against a San Francisco defense that held Adrian Peterson to a mere 31 yards Monday night. As mentioned above, expect Roethlisberger to pass more in this game, instead of trying to pound the ball against a defense that ranks seventh in the league against the rush after Week 1, with 71 yards allowed to Minnesota.

Also, the Steelers showed an affinity for handing the ball off to Will Johnson on the goal line against the Pats. This limits Deangelo's FFL scoring potential.

Williams had an average of 13.3 fantasy points week one, but is not likely to repeat that performance. However, with a lack of quality running backs, still consider Williams as a solid RB2 or a flex option in a larger league.

Week 1 Receiving Stats: 0

Week 1 Kick Return Stats: 1/22 yds 22.0 avg

Week 1 Avg Position Rank: 94

Week 1 NFL.com Points: 0

Week 1 Yahoo Points: 0

Verdict: Cut

Analysis: In the offseason, I was one of those making a huge case for Dri Archer. I cited his blazing speed and the need for Todd Haley to develop schemes to utilize his strengths. But Archer's lack of size and experience seems to be way too much to overcome and it is becoming clear that he is not displaying enough in practice to make a meaningful contribution to the Steelers or to fantasy teams.

If your league accounts for return yardage, then there's a possibility of points. But still, there is currently no fantasy impact here.

Analysis: This guy is a fantasy goliath. With a score, 9 grabs and 133 yards receiving, Brown extended his streak of five catches for 50 yards to 34 games last week. The next closest was Lavernius Coles back in the early part of the century. Coles, when he was not stealing shoes from a Dillards department store, did it in 19 straight. I always thought of that as a so-so stat, because in my mind your star receiver should be doing that every week. The fact is that even the greatest haven't. Since Brown is the only guy to do it over more than two seasons, the stat is pretty impressive. Fantasy-wise, to quote George Costanza, "I tell you it's gold Jerry...Gold!".

Against New England, Antonio was not slated to extend that streak. Reports out of Patriots camp had him devising schemes to shut Brown down. It didn't happen. San Francisco is better, but look for Antonio Brown to continue his mastery. Last week #84 averaged in the neighborhood of 20.2 fantasy points.

Always start him. He is truly the master of his own domain.

Analysis: I started Wheaton last week and while he seemed merely pedestrian (3 catches for 55 yards) on the field, an average of 8 points for a flex option for a WR2 or WR3 is not terrible. I think this weekend, Wheaton needs and will make a statement. With the 49ers attention all on AB, look for Markus to break out. But then again, I said that last week

In a smaller league, Wheaton is on the bubble. In a 12-team league, #11 is a definite start.

Analysis: It's very disconcerting to see the third-round pick out of Auburn not dressing against the Pats. The NCAA-accomplished Coates, a healthy-scratch, was drafted at wide receiver mainly because of the pending suspension of Martavis Bryant, but could not beat out an undrafted quarterback who converted to wide receiver, Tyler Murphy. At this point, Coates should not even be kept on your roster. You can pick him up later, if he starts to make a statement.

Analysis: Heyward-Bey almost had a better stat line than Markus Wheaton in the season opener, but his gaffe at the end of the first half cost the Steelers a crucial touchdown and his owners could not collect six points. DHB went from an average of around 14 to 6.2 fantasy points when a fraction of his foot touched the white line. #88 seems to be of strong-enough mind to rebound from the costly error.

Field awareness aside, Darius will continue to be an option for Big Ben during the Bryant suspension, but he's maybe a WR3 option in a deep league at best.

Analysis: Miller is a good, low-end option to start at TE1 this weekend against the 49ers at home. Last week Miller snagged eight Big Ben balls for 84 yards. With Wheaton and DHB merely a little more than pedestrian and Bell out another week, Heath is a great club for Ben to pull out for his short game against a depleted linebacking corps from San Francisco.

Verdict: Cut

Analysis: Even if you are in a 16-team league,  I don't for see the Steelers defense or special teams being a startable option. The defense surrendered 80 rushing yards (NFL Rank #11), which is respectable. But this time around they face a tough test in Carlos Hyde, who dashed for a league-best 168 yards last week and two scores.

Where the problem lies is the pass defense which surrendered a massive 281 passing yards (NFL Rank #24) of a tally of 361 total yards (NFL Rank #21) and 28 points (NFL Rank #24) to the Patriots. They did manage to garner two sacks of Brady by Bud Dupree and Will Allen.

Tyler Murphy had one reception for 16 yards late in the Patriots game.

Will Johnson had four carries for seven yards and a touchdown.