Houston Texans - Fantasy News

Should I Start T.J. Yates in Week 16?

by Derek Norton

12/22/17

NFL

Houston Texans

T.J. Yates

It seems like a lifetime ago when the Houston Texans looked like a potential playoff contender. But their playoff dreams lasted about as long as Deshaun Watson’s ACL: roughly eight weeks.

Since then, the Texans are 1-6 and have one of the most putrid offenses in the league. Tom Savage was the leader of said putrid offense, but T.J. Yates will take over for the rest of the season now that Savage has been placed on injured reserve.

Yates gets a home start against the Pittsburgh Steelers and, well, the situation is less than ideal.

Why Should I Start T.J. Yates?

Yates at least does have plenty of surrounding weapons. As Houston’s offense crumbled, DeAndre Hopkins somehow managed to continue putting up monster numbers. Only Antonio Brown has more receiving yards than Hopkins, and the Clemson product is poised to pass him with Brown potentially set to miss the rest of the regular season. Yates also has an excellent deep threat in Will Fuller, who could bail Yates out with a big play or two.

His projection (12 Dober points) is relatively low for a quarterback. Despite having a capable pass defense, the Steelers have allowed each passer they’ve faced since Week 6 to go over 12 Dober points. That includes games against less successful quarterbacks like Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett and Brett Hundley. Yates doesn’t have a high bar to clear.

This game has the look of a blowout. The Steelers are favored by 8.5 points—and for good reason. The Texans have long been eliminated from the playoffs and Pittsburgh is still fighting for the AFC’s top seed. The Texans have also lost their last four games by at least 10. If Pittsburgh does indeed have a big lead, Yates could rack up some points against a prevent defense in garbage time.

Why Should I Bench T.J. Yates?

Yates is a journeyman backup quarterback who isn’t known for putting up numbers. He has one career 300-yard game, which happened in December of 2011. Since 2012, the best he’s done is 229 yards in a game. The 5.32 yards per attempt he has this year would rank outside the top 35 if he qualified for the leaderboard. And to top it all off, he’s leading an offense that has only exceeded 16 points once since Watson’s injury. This is not a player or situation you want to rely on.

The Steelers have the fifth-ranked pass defense in the league. They’re tied for the sixth-fewest touchdown passes allowed (17) and have the third-most sacks (43). After holding Tom Brady to 15.72 Dober points in Week 15, it’s doubtful the Steelers will be intimidated by Yates.

While it’s true Yates could benefit from garbage time this week, he also had that opportunity last game in a 45-7 loss to Jacksonville. He managed 7.12 Dober points and had an astonishing 2.3 QBR. The Steelers’ defense isn’t as ferocious as Jacksonville’s but they’re in the ballpark. Yates could be destined to struggle no matter how the game plays out.

Should I Make T.J. Yates a Week 16 Fantasy Starter?

No. Yates is in a bad spot that he simply isn’t talented enough to overcome. He has a puncher’s chance to go over his projection if he continues to force the ball to Hopkins, but it’s more likely the Steelers shut Yates down. He’s a journeyman backup for a reason.

Week 16 Fantasy Prediction: T.J. Yates Under 12 DFPs