2022 Team Previews: Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Preview 2022
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Top 120
Najee Harris, RB (ADP: 7): Harris’ was a volume beast in 2021, operating as the bedrock of an offense that had a noodle-armed Ben Roethlisberger at QB. With Big Ben’s ability to consistently challenge defenses down the field, Harris took on a massive rushing workload (307 carries) and also became the short passing game (94 targets). Pittsburgh’s offensive line was awful – seventh-worst run blocking unit per PFF – so Harris wasn’t very efficient at only 3.9 yards per attempt, but his volume alone carried the way as did his 10 total touchdowns. Many feel the Steelers’ offense has added by subtracting Big Ben, but I am not in that camp. While Roethlisberger was immobile, and his arm was shot, he still had a mastery of this offense that Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett don’t have. Without major additions to this line, Harris’ season should play out like 2021. He remains the only RB of note on the team, so his 84% snap will continue. Harris will be a fine pick at this ADP, but whether he improves on his big rookie year will depend on whether or not Trubisky/Pickett feed him targets like Big Ben did.
Diontae Johnson, WR (ADP: 40): Johnson is a player who could see his stock drop due to the change in QB. While Big Ben couldn’t bomb it downfield like the old days, he could accurately pepper Johnson with shorter targets and turn him into a monstrous PPR option. Johnson caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns working with Roethlisberger, taking full advantage of his skill set. Now, he’ll either be catching passes from a rookie, or from Trubisky, who is a far less accurate thrower and someone who prefers longer attempts than shorter, safer passes. Johnson surprisingly only ranked 39th per PFF’s grading system and posted a -7.6% WR DVOA per Football Outsiders. Johnson should still be a strong WR2, but I am very concerned about his ceiling without the guaranteed target share Big Ben offered him.
Chase Claypool, WR (ADP: 109): After an exciting rookie season, Claypool’s sophomore campaign was…ugh. He posted fewer receptions and yards while scoring seven fewer touchdowns, and he was the biggest victim of Roethlisberger’s inability to go deep. However, we can’t blame Claypool’s dud entirely on Roethlisberger, because per Reception Perception Claypool wasn’t doing Big Ben any favors either. Almost 30% of Claypool’s routes last season were nine routes down the field, and even though Ben struggled to throw them, Claypool won less than 50% of those nine routes and was not getting open. He’s also struggled with contested catches, catching fewer than half of them in both of his NFL seasons. Having a stronger armed QB will undoubtedly be a positive, but these underlying numbers are not encouraging, and neither is the Steelers feeling the need to draft rookie George Pickens in the second round.
**Pat Freiermuth, TE (ADP: 114): While we all drooled over Kyle Pitts’ upside last season, Freiermuth somewhat quietly went out and had a comparable, if not better season. He didn’t put up 1,000+ yards like Pitts, but he caught 60 balls for 497 yards and found the end zone seven times. Unlike Johnson and Claypool, who have some red flags in their profiles, Freiermuth graded inside PFF’s Top 10 TEs and earned their eighth-best receiving grade at the position. Freiermuth has big TD upside, and projects to have enough volume that he isn’t completely TD-dependent. He’s a true season-long option, with Top 5 positional upside depending on how many TDs he’s able to secure.
Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)
George Pickens, WR (ADP: 172): Pickens is big, fast, talented and has the promise of being selected by the Steelers, who do a better job of drafting this position than any team in football. He only played in one game in 2021 for Georgia due to injury, but still had five catches for 107 yards. He never posted a 50-catch season in his college, barely played last season and has two very established players in front of him so his upside in 2022 is low for me. With that said, injuries do happen, and if he starts to get playing time then he’ll be someone worth adding on waivers for sure.
Sleeper Class (200 & later)
Mitch Trubisky, QB (ADP: 290): Trubisky is actually the favorite to start in Week 1. You’ll hear some glowing stuff about him depending on who you’re listening to and/or reading, but we’ve seen him for five years now and know who he is. Trubisky’s ceiling is Ryan Tannehill, and that’s not exactly awful. Tannehill has shown Top 12 upside at the position, and he had fewer weapons at his disposal than Trubisky does. Trubisky can run too, which helps, but he doesn’t run at an elite level and Najee Harris is going to monopolize goal line opportunities. Trubisky could potentially be a useful streaming option, but expecting anything more is a fool’s errand.
Kenny Pickett, QB (ADP: 292): Pickett was surprisingly the only QB drafted in the first round this season, and despite that draft capital he does not seem to be entering the season as Pittsburgh’s starter. Pickett was billed as NFL-ready, but if he does secure the starting gig, he’s not very interesting on his own as a fantasy QB. His fifth year with the Pittsburgh Panthers was incredible, with Pickett throwing 42 touchdowns against seven interceptions. But in the previous four years, Pickett had never thrown more than 13 touchdown passes, and both times he did that he also was picked off nine times. He’s mobile, but not a runner. Should he be the starter, he might be good for the pass catchers on this team, but he will not be startable outside of two-QB leagues.
Benny Snell, RB (ADP: N/A): Pittsburgh’s RB room is so barren that despite averaging 2.7 yards per carry last year, Snell still looks like a clear handcuff to Harris. Including him here is perfunctory; there’s no need to draft him, even if you’re trying to lock up the Steelers backfield, because he’s not going to produce. But some managers love having their guys’ handcuffs, and Snell is Harris’.