Heath Miller Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Heath Miller had another quietly productive year in 2015 but did a lot of his damage in the two games against the Bengals. Of his 81 targets, 23 of them came against Cincinnati (28% of his season target total), which is a glaring number considering Miller played in 15 of 16 games this year. 20 of his 60 catches came in those games (he had 10 catches in each game) and it's fairly obvious that the Steelers see something in the Bengals defense that makes them vulnerable to the TE spot. The Bengals corners have played well this season (sans Dre Kirkpatrick) and a fairly strong pass rush may also lead to the Steelers employing more short passes in Miller's direction. Regardless, it's impossible to ignore Miller this week at cheap price tags across the industry. Jordan Reed is clearly a notch above Miller in terms of DFS outlook, but Miller is in the discussion with guys like Tyler Eifert and Travis Kelce this week. Given that Miller's price tag sits a tier or two below Eifert's and Kelce's, he's a viable target in any format if you aren't paying up for Reed. The fact that DeAngelo Williams is unlikely to play on further increases the value of the Steelers passing game.

The Steelers tight end was a full participant in practice today and appears likely to play this weekend against the Bengals. This is good news for the Steelers pass game as one area where the Bengals are a little suspect is to TE's where they rank #16 in TE DvP. The last time the Steelers played the Bengals a little more than a month ago, Miller put up a 13 catch, 105 yard performance.

Heath Miller is listed as questionable and considered not likely to play according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette due to his rib injury. Miller missed practice all week and if he sits, rookie Jesse James will draw the start in what should be a game with a lot of points scored. The 6'7" James has the physical tools to be a red zone threat for the Steelers, but has also had some ball security issues with drops earlier in the season. Miller's absence could also mean more short-range targets for the Pittsburgh outside WR's.

Heath Miller is still technically listed as a game-time decision for Sunday night's game with the Colts, although team beat reporters seem to think he's likely to sit. This would leave the tight end duties to Jesse James, a rookie from Penn State that has found his way onto the field over the last few weeks. He'd have some GPP appeal due to the tougher match-ups for the Pittsburgh WRs (Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant will have to deal with Vontae Davis at times), and it doesn't hurt that Ben Roethlisberger is projected to finish as a top 3 QB this week. Assuming Miller sits, James is a viable candidate to see 6-8 targets and would only stand to benefit if Vontae Davis is able to control his side of the field. James would be a nice tournament pivot off of a more popular play like Scott Chandler if you are looking to diversify. The Colts have allowed the 8th most FPPG to tight ends this season.

Miller takes on an Oakland defense that has been historically bad against the TE position so far this season. They've allowed big games to Tyler Eifert (9-104-2 in Week 1), Crockett Gillmore (5-88-2 in Week 2), Gary Barnidge (6-105-1 in Week 3), Martellus Bennett (11-83-1 in Week 4) and Ladarius Green (4-45-1 in Week 7). They also managed to allow a receiving touchdown to Kellen Davis last weekend, which marked his first reception of the year. It's no surprise that the Raiders have allowed the most FPs to opposing TEs by a fairly wide margin (the Dolphins are slowly creeping up on them). Heath Miller is somehow available at just $2,700 on DraftKings, making him a premier target in cash games and tournaments this week. While his $5,800 price tag on FanDuel isn't as attractive, he's still very much in play in all formats.