Steelers Fantasy Football Preview: Russell Wilson, Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth and More
Breaking down the Pittsburgh Steelers best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.
It’s time for another NFL team fantasy football preview.
We’ve looked at the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears so far and will be discussing the Pittsburgh Steelers next.
Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.
Get ready for draft season! Practice Mock Drafts, check out ADPs and get advice for trades with our trade analyzer.
Quarterback Fantasy Outlooks
This is the first team I’ve written about that doesn’t have a locked in quarterback for the season. Russell Wilson appears to be the favorite to be the starter, while Justin Fields is waiting for an opportunity.
Wilson spent the past two seasons in Denver, where things didn’t go according to plan. Last season, Wilson made 15 starts, with the team going 7-8 in those games.
Wilson completed 297 of his 447 passes for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added 341 rushing yards and three scores on 80 attempts.
Fields was in Chicago for the first three seasons of his career. A year ago, the team went 5-8 in his 13 starts.
Fields completed 227 of his 370 passes for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Fields rushed for 657 yards and four touchdowns on 124 attempts.
While Fields could be the QB the Steelers turn to eventually, I believe Wilson wins the starting job and serves as QB1 until the team either is out of playoff contention or the coaching staff has enough of Wilson’s play. Pittsburgh doesn’t have a great offense, but there’s enough playmakers that whoever serves as the starting quarterback should be able to at least be an average fantasy QB.
Neither quarterback is getting much draft love right now, with both going between around pick 210. Wilson is the slight favorite.
Of course, whenever a starter is named, they will jump several of the quarterbacks ahead of them on the ADP list. Again, Wilson or Fields will be streaming options for the upcoming season, but I certainly wouldn’t count on either guy to lead a fantasy team.
Running Back Fantasy Outlooks
Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are a pretty solid 1-2 punch out of the backfield for Pittsburgh.
In 17 games last season, Harris rushed for 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns on 255 attempts. He caught 29 of his 38 targets for 170 yards and no touchdowns.
It was the third straight season in which Harris has had at least 1,200 total yards, but the eight total scores was two off the pace from his rookie and sophomore seasons.
Warren also appeared in 17 games. He rushed for 784 yards and four scores on 149 attempts, while hauling in 61 of his 74 targets for 370 yards but no scores.
Warren almost doubled his total yardage from his rookie season, but the four total touchdowns were pretty unimpressive. The main takeaway should have been that he got double the amount of touches from year one to two, while only playing in one more game.
Both Pittsburgh running backs are going to be startable depending on matchups this season, but if I had to pick just one, I’d take Harris. He isn’t the pass-catching threat Warren is, but still looks like he’ll get a few more touches. I do think Warren will be a better fantasy asset this season because he’ll tack on a couple receiving scores.
Harris is RB23 right now and going around pick 67. Warren is RB30 and going around pick 92. Both should be viewed as depth fantasy RB options, not players who will lead your team or even start every week. Both could be started in deeper leagues.
Cordarrelle Patterson is likely going to serve as RB3 for Pittsburgh. With the lack of pass-catching options the team has (as we are about to discuss), Patterson could become fantasy relevant. Patterson is off the fantasy radar right now, but definitely should be watched, especially in deeper leagues.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks
The Pittsburgh receiver room looks a bit different than last year. George Pickens is back and should lead the way for the group. Van Jefferson was signed in free agency and Roman Wilson was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft - those two are the other likely starters at this point. Scotty Miller, Calvin Austin and Quez Watkins appear to be the backup options right now.
Pickens played in 17 games a season ago, hauling in 63 of his 106 targets for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns.
Jefferson was on the Falcons and Rams a season ago. In 17 total games, he caught 20 of his 43 passes for 209 yards and no scores. He had 822 total yards and six scores two seasons ago, but has fallen off since.
Wilson really had one great season at Michigan during his four-year college career. He figures to serve as the slot receiver for the Steelers.
Miller was with the Falcons a season ago. In 17 games, he caught 11 of 16 passes for 161 yards and two scores. He’s gone over 500 total yards once in his first five years in the league.
Austin played in 17 games for Pittsburgh as a rookie. He made 17 grabs on 30 targets for 180 yards and a touchdown. He added 57 rushing yards and a score on 11 attempts.
Watkins played in nine games for the Eagles a season ago, making 15 grabs on 21 targets for 142 yards and a score. He’s gone over 500 total yards just once in his four-year NFL career so far.
Pickens is clearly the Pittsburgh receiver to target in fantasy drafts, and he might be the only one worth taking in standard leagues. He’s the 25th WR off draft boards right now, going around pick 54.
Getting a top receiver for a team that late in a fantasy draft is never a bad thing. There’s risk involved because the Steelers’ offense could be a disaster, but I still think Pickens can rack up enough numbers to warrant a pick that high.
Wilson is WR71 and going around pick 183. I’d rather save my later picks in a standard league draft for a more proven player. Wilson is a player to target in deeper leagues and dynasties however, and could become a streaming option in standard leagues at some point this season.
No other Pittsburgh receiver appears in the top 250 picks overall. All are options in deeper leagues, but you’d probably be best served to spend your pick on someone else and then target a Steelers’ receiver on the waiver wire if they find some success.
Tight End Fantasy Outlooks
With the lack of proven pass catchers on the roster, starting tight end Pat Freiermuth looks like a solid fantasy option. Darnell Washington is his top backup, while Connor Heyward could also find a role.
Freiermuth was limited to 12 games a season ago. He made 32 grabs for 308 yards and two touchdowns on 47 total targets. He went over 700 yards in 2022, so there’s reason to believe he could be a decent fantasy TE if he can stay on the field (and with the lack of receivers around him).
Washington played in all 17 games as a rookie, but only had 61 receiving yards on seven grabs and 10 targets. He’s more of a blocking tight end.
Heyward also appeared in 17 games last season. He made 23 catches on 34 targets for 167 yards and no touchdowns.
Freiermuth should be the only Pittsburgh TE on your fantasy radar. He’s TE14 and going around pick 123 right now. I think there’s a chance Freiermuth ends up as a steal, but there’s also no tight ends taken before him that I’d suggest passing on for Freiermuth. He looks more like a streaming option than an every-week starter, and unless you don’t land one of the proven TEs, I probably wouldn’t consider Freiermuth.
Washington and Heyward would likely only become fantasy relevant if Freiermuth would go down with an injury. I’d skip over them in all formats.
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