TE Jesse James - Pittsburgh Steelers

6-7, 261

Born: 6-4-1994

College: Penn State

Drafted: Round 5, pick 2015

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Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire

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Week 15: vs New England Patriots

All TE vs NE

FBG says: Neutral matchup. Even on his shakier days, Ben Roethlisberger is always a top fantasy consideration. With great weekly volume and the league's best one-two punch at receiver, Roethlisberger rarely disappoints in terms of counting stats. Here in 2018, he's posting his best yardage rates in half a decade, and his 325 yards per game is just a shade off his career-high (328 in 2015). Taking advantage of an elite front line - even without right tackle Marcus Gilbert - Roethlisberger is airing the ball out aggressively and connecting more often than not. There are certain weeks in which his erratic tendencies come out, and interceptions doom his Steelers on the real-life field. Roethlisberger has thrown 6 picks over the last 4 weeks, and 13 on the season. Still, this passing game is loaded with week-to-week, matchup-proof dynamism. Antonio Brown was shut down last Sunday, but has posted 86 receptions on the year and found the end zone in 10 of 13 games. On the other side, JuJu Smith-Schuster is simply exploding, routinely taking advantage of single coverage and creating huge plays. He's actually outproducing Brown, with 91 catches of his own and 95 yards per game, and he shredded the Raiders for 130 and 2 touchdowns last week. Those two make up most of this attack, but they're easily producing enough to keep themselves - and Roethlisberger - among the fantasy elites each week. The Patriots pass defense remains an inconsistent unit, but it's stronger than the counting stats suggest. They've allowed the league's 10th-most passing yards and ninth-most touchdowns, but sit middle-of-the-pack in efficiency (just 6.4 net yards per attempt). Over the past 5 weeks, opposing passers have averaged just 246 yards per game - 235 if we discount last week's wild last-play rally. In true Bill Belichick fashion, this is a group that tends to focus its attention on one or two key matchups and lets one opposing receiver go wild. Last week, for example, they gave up 135 yards to Kenny Stills, but no other Dolphin topped 23 (again, excluding the final play). In their Week 9 showdown with the Packers, rookie speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling racked up 101, while Davante Adams and Randall Cobb combined for just 64 on 15 targets. There are definitely holes here to exploit - outside cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Jason McCourty are fairly inconsistent, and the inside guys have been bad for much of the year. But as long as they ride Belichick's scheme, the Patriots are able to keep most of an opposing pass game in check. That suggests big Week 15 things for either Antonio Brown or JuJu Smith-Schuster, but likely not for both.

Recent Stats and Projections

WEEK	OPP		oSNAP	REC	YD	TD	FumL	Pts
11	at JAX		16	0	0	0	0	0
12	at DEN		50	4	35	0	0	3.5
13	vs LAC		33	1	7	0	0	0.7
14	at OAK		31	2	28	0	0	2.8
15	vs NE		0	1	9	0	0	0.9
15	vs NE	PROJ-Dodds	*	2	*	*	*	*
15	vs NE	PROJ-Tremblay	*	2	*	*	*	*
15	vs NE	PROJ-Bloom	*	2	*	*	*	*

Weekly Performance vs TE 1, TE 12, TE 24

Percentile ranks

Jesse James's percentile rank in each category, among TE with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2018 Week 12 vs DEN (4 / 4 / 35 / 0 rec)

Unfortunately, Vance McDonald was injured, but fortunately the Steelers have another tight end to step right in and has good chemistry with Roethlisberger. The best skill of Jesse James, which he displayed in this game, is his ability to find the soft spot in zone coverage and provide a big target for Roethlisberger. James does not display a lot after the catch, but he is a reliable target.

2018 Week 2 vs KC (5 / 5 / 138 / 1 rec)

James was the forgotten man in this matchup, by the Chiefs. In the first half alone James had 4 receptions, 92 yards, and1 touchdown. There was concern with James' usage coming into the game with Vance McDonald returning to action, but James was more involved. James finished the day catching all five of his targets and making the most of his spot on the target totem pole.