Week 12's rendition of Thursday Night Football features two teams who have come to life in the passing game since making mid-season quarterback changes. Whether it is the increased passing volume for the Browns or Russell Wilson's affinity for throwing to the end zone, these receiving corps bring a lot of intrigue to fantasy managers this week. None of the individual matchups jump off the page in this one but I wouldn't be surprised if we see Russell Wilson throwing in George Pickens' direction more often than usual, based on his matchup against Martin Emerson

 
WR CB Matchup Report
      
Left WR vs Right CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDK / FD $CornerbackOppMatchup
Cedric TillmanCLE$5500 / $6300Joey Porter JrPITDowngrade
It may appear that Cedric Tillman’s meteoric rise to fantasy stardom came crashing down last week, as he finished as WR50 with 3 catches for 47 yards, but a closer tells a different story. Despite the muted production, Tillman still drew 8 targets and accounted for 119 air yards; showing that his role is as significant as ever but his production was on the wrong side of variance last week. In Week 12 he’ll have his work cut out for him as he’ll be shadowed by Joey Porter Jr of the Steelers. Porter regained his footing last week, allowing 0 catches on the 3 targets thrown into his coverage and playing a big role in neutralizing the potent Ravens’ offense.
George PickensPIT$6900 / $7600Martin Emerson Jr.CLENeutral
George Pickens has flipped on like a light switch since Russell Wilson took over the starting quarterback job in Pittsburgh, averaging nearly 18 fantasy points per game over that span. He draws a fairly nice matchup this week against Martin Emerson Jr of the Browns, who has shown an ability to get gashed downfield and has surrendered 4 touchdowns on just 26 catches this season. This sets up as a “Neutral” matchup overall but Emereson’s deficiencies play perfectly into Pickens’ strong-suits.
      
Right WR vs Left CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDraftKings/FanDuelCornerbackOppMatchup
Jerry JeudyCLE$5900 / $6100Donte JacksonPITNeutral
Last week we got to see the version of Jerry Jeudy that the Broncos thought they were drafting out of Alabama as he broke out for the Browns to the tune of 6 catches for 142 yards and a touchdown. His matchup this week, against Donte Jackson of Pittsburgh, also looks to be fairly neutral on the surface but has a few distinct edges in Jeudy’s favor. Namely that over 50% of Jackson’s 313 receiving yards allowed have come after the catch and Jeudy is known for making tacklers miss and piling up YAC. I’d expect another pass-happy script for the Browns and that means good things for Jeudy in this matchup.
Mike WilliamsPIT$4200 / $5500Denzel WardCLEDowngrade
We have to do a bit of projecting here but reading the tea leaves, I feel confident in the direction of this one. Mike Williams has been slowly ramping up his playing time since his trade to Pittsburgh ahead of Week 10; last week seeing his snaps increase from 9 up to 25. Most of those snaps came at the expense of Van Jefferson, who previously played the right side of the formation for the Steelers. I’d expect Williams to overtake the majority of snaps on that side this week and unfortunately that puts him in the crosshairs of Denzel Ward. The leader in Pass Break Ups this season, Ward is coming off a marquee game where he held his opponent to 7 yards while notching an INT and a PBU. Williams will always carry decent touchdown upside but this is going to be a long day for him.
      
Slot WR vs Slot CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDraftKings/FanDuelCornerbackOppMatchup
Elijah MooreCLE$4800 / $5800Beanie Bishop JrPITNeutral
Elijah Moore has also been basking in the glory of a quarterback change, averaging 9 targets and over 55 receiving yards per game with Jameis Winston as the signal-caller. He’ll look to keep the momentum going, coming off his first touchdown of the season last week, as he faces off with Beanie Bishop Jr in the slot. The UDFA rookie has recovered nicely from a very rough start to the season, averaging just 16 yards receiving per game over his last 5 while picking off 3 interceptions over that same span. It’s hard to put a rookie in the “Downgrade” category after just a handful of games but he’s playing like he belongs there recently.
Calvin AustinPIT$3100 / $5200Greg Newsome IICLEUpgrade
This is one of those frustrating spots where the player with the best individual matchup simply doesn’t have the role in the offense that would make you feel confident in his production. Calvin Austin has the benefit of running in the coverage of Greg Newsome II this week, who is giving up yardage at a bloated 15 yards per catch clip and has allowed 3 trips to the end zone over his last 5 games. Austin has seen his target volume increase slightly since Russell Wilson entered the fold but more importantly he’s started to show some signs of life in the red zone of late.