Russell Wilson Likely the New Steelers Starting QB | Fantasy Impact for Wilson, George Pickens, Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth and More

The Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting at 4-2 and sitting in a good spot to make the playoffs, but the team appears on its way to making a quarterback change.

Russell Wilson is expected to take over the starting role from Justin Fields. Let’s break down what it all means for the Steelers fantasy players.

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The QB Change

Wilson has been out all regular season with his calf injury. He was the team’s starter before getting injured, but Fields has started each week and seemed to have a solid grip on the job with the Steelers putting together a good record.

Fields has completed 66.3% of his passes (106-of-160) for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. While he’s taken care of the ball, the yardage and touchdown marks are pretty underwhelming across six games.

Fields has made his biggest impact on offense as a runner. He’s got 231 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 55 attempts.

The Steelers have one of the worst offenses in the league when it comes to total yards per game (298.3). They’ve been closer to average in points (20.7), but are still in the bottom half of the league. Only four teams have less passing yards than Pittsburgh, while the Steelers have a top-10 rushing attack.

They’ll lose Fields’ dual-threat ability, but have a better passer back there with Wilson. 

Wilson has had NFL success in the past, but has seen his numbers fall over the past three seasons - one with Seattle and two with Denver. 

While Pittsburgh doesn’t have a ton of offensive playmakers, Wilson has put together good seasons with average talent in the past. Now, that was as Wilson was an emerging NFL quarterback. He’s past his prime now, but there’s still enough talent in place for him to perform at least at an average level.

Steelers Fantasy Outlooks

We’ll start with Wilson, because we sort of led into it.

Fields had been a streaming option, but mostly because of his running ability. Wilson won’t have those rushing numbers, but should be a better passer. If he can take care of the ball and average at least 200 passing yards a week, all it would take would be a couple touchdowns to be an average or better fantasy option.

I think fantasy owners need to play matchups with Wilson, and he’s a streaming option in week 7. Check back later this week to see how Wilson stacks up with other QBs in the weekly start decision story I put together.

George Pickens is the Steelers’ top wideout this season, but has struggled with consistency as Fields started. Having Wilson back there gives Pickens a better chance to deliver good fantasy numbers. Fantasy owners should have a little more confidence starting Pickens going forward.

Pat Freiermuth has been the only other pass catcher worth playing in fantasy leagues, and that’s because he plays tight end. Freiermuth could become a weekly starting option with a better passer throwing to him. Freiermuth is worth adding and stashing if you are looking for some fantasy TE help.

No other Steeler pass catcher is currently on the fantasy radar in standard leagues.

Van Jefferson has played the next-most snaps, but only has 62 yards on eight catches and 13 targets. TE Darnell Washington has 55 yards and a score on six grabs and seven targets. Calvin Austin is up to 167 yards and a score on 10 catches and 17 targets. Scotty Miller, Connor Heyward and MyCole Pruitt have also played at least a bit this season.

All these players are worth keeping an eye on, as a QB change could turn one of them into a decent fantasy option. I’d pay close attention to Austin, while Jefferson is another one to closely track, but more so for deeper leagues.

I’ll hit on the running backs last. They might benefit most from this QB change.

Sure, the pass catchers have higher outlooks now, but the running backs now don’t have to worry about Fields getting a bunch of designed runs. Those runs will go to Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren primarily, with Cordarrelle Patterson maybe factoring in when he’s healthy.

Harris looks like he’s dominating the backfield, but that’s more because Warren and Patterson have been banged up. Harris played just six more snaps than Warren in week 6.

I’d feel a bit more confident starting Harris in week 7 and beyond with Wilson as the team’s starting quarterback. Warren could also take on a larger offensive role now that Fields is probably out of the picture, which could mean Warren becomes a flex option in standard leagues again.

Final Thoughts

This is a fascinating decision given the team’s record, but I honestly get it. 

The Steelers want to see how things will look with Wilson back there. If things aren’t at least the same as what they were with Fields, the team can go back to Fields before hopefully playing in the postseason.

I think you should pretty much treat the other offensive fantasy options how you have all season, with maybe just a touch more upside for each player. We can reassess the situation if need be going forward, but I think this will be a positive move for every RB, WR and TE on the team.