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Vance McDonald Injury Update Could Boost Fantasy Value in Steelers Offense for Week 15

By Tristan Jung

Vance McDonald runs with the ball in a game against the Rams.
Vance McDonald runs with the ball in a game against the Rams. / Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
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Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald did not practice on Wednesday, leaving his Week 15 status in jeopardy.

With McDonald in danger of missing Sunday night's game, the other members of the Steelers' offense could be in line for more production. James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster were both full participants and should see full workloads this weekend.

After suffering a concussion during the third quarter of the Steelers' game against the Arizona Cardinals, McDonald entered the league's concussion protocol. He had one catch for three yards before leaving the game. With McDonald out, the Steelers brought in Nick Vannett, who was not targeted for the rest of the game, suggesting that Vannett won't bring much fantasy value.

Returning to action with Jaylen Samuels not practicing and McDonald possibly sitting out, Conner could play a big role in the receiving game this week. Smith-Schuster has averaged 6.1 targets per game on the year, and he should be heavily involved as well.

Efficiency could be hard to come by this week though, taking on a Buffalo Bills defense that checks in at fifth in Football Outsiders' pass defense DVOA rankings.

While QB Devlin Hodges hasn't had the most dynamic performances (he's only broken 200 yards passing once this year), McDonald was still a reliable option from the tight end spot and his potential absence should have a significant impact.

Our Week 15 PPR fantasy football rankings have Conner at RB24, while Smith-Schuster comes in unranked (outside the top 36 at WR).

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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.