Pittsburgh decided to end the Kenny Pickett era and shipped him off to Philadelphia. They not only brought in Russell Wilson to be their starting quarterback but also Justin Fields as their backup. Wilson is getting old, but there are still glimmers that he can be the player he once was. In Arthur Smith’s conservative offense, Wilson won’t be asked to do that much except make good decisions and hand the ball off to his running backs a ton.
It was a little surprising to many fantasy managers to see that Wilson was already named the Week 1 starter. Still, the Steelers always do best when they play conservatively on offense and aggressively on defense. Mike Tomlin just needs Wilson not to lose the game, and Wilson should benefit from that type of atmosphere. He will be asked to throw about 30 to 32 times and not to do anything extraordinary. He’s still somewhat draftable in superflex leagues, but his upside is limited.
Fields went from being a first-round pick and the future quarterback of the Bears for the next decade to being traded to Pittsburgh for a later-round pick. The best thing that Fields can do for his career is to learn as much as he possibly can from Russell Wilson, and I hope that he gets another opportunity in 2025. As for his fantasy value, he makes for a decent backup and possibly a flyer late in deep leagues.
Arthur Smith ran the ball so much in Atlanta that it’s easy to see how Najee Harris will have a humongous role in Pittsburgh this season. Expect Harris to be the goal line back and the short-yardage back, and he should easily have about 20 touches per game. Harris probably will have an ADP somewhere around Round 6 by the time drafts roll around in mid-August.
Warren is the lightning to Harris’s thunder. He is very good out of the backfield and blocks better than his size would indicate. He’s got a big heart and is hard to take down at the first tackle. The Steelers are going to want to run the ball probably close to 35 times a game, so it’s easy to see how Warren should get about 15 touches out of the backfield.
With Dionte Johnson now in Carolina, Pickens becomes the de facto WR1 in Pittsburgh. Pickens is a boom-or-bust player who will see the other team’s top cover guy week in and week out, but he should still be able to make a bunch of plays based on athleticism alone. The bigger problem for this year, however, is that the Steelers probably won’t throw the ball more than about 30 to 35 times a game. Assuming that Russell Wilson completes about 20 or 22 of those passes, it’s hard to see Pickens catch more than about five or six passes per game, which limits his upside greatly.
When you think about underrated tight ends, Pat Freiermuth’s name should be at the top of your list. Arthur Smith used both Jonnu Smith and Kyle Pitts often last season, so Freiermuth feels like he is in a very good position to get a bunch of targets. The Steelers don’t have much depth at receiver outside of rookie Roman Wilson and third-year player Calvin Austin, so Wilson might look to Freiermuth as one of his top options in the red zone.
The Steelers just signed Mike Tomlin to a new contract, which is well deserved as his players love him. However, if Arthur Smith reverts back to the way he coached the Falcons rather than how he coached the Titans, the Steelers will miss a playoff berth in 2024.
