Fantasy Football 2021 Team Previews: Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Preview 2021

All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Top 120

**Najee Harris, RB (ADP: 20): Harris looks to have one of the clearest paths to fantasy relevance in recent memory for a rookie RB as the Steelers’ 2021 first round pick. One of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL last season, the Steelers essentially abandoned it as the season wore on. This offseason, they did very little to address it in free agency aside from bringing on one-dimensional Kalen Ballage on a cheap deal. Instead they spent major draft capital on a stud rusher with a complete skill set, and it’d be shocking if he isn’t dominating touches. 

At 6’2, 230 lbs. Harris has an ideal build, massive college production at Alabama, and proven ability to handle a big workload. As the lead back for the Crimson Tide the past two seasons, Harris has finished back-to-back campaigns with more than 1,500 yards from scrimmage, and as a senior he accounted for 30 total touchdowns. The biggest issue for Harris is the Steelers’ offensive line; they ranked dead last in adjusted line yards, last in RB yards, 30th in  Power Success and 28th in Stuffed percentage. These are deep-seated issues that are unlikely to resolve themselves in a single offseason, so those envisioning an Ezekiel Elliott-esque rookie season might come away a tad disappointed, but Harris is so much more talented than what Pittsburgh has had recently that he will single-handedly improve these metrics. Harris will be a high-volume stud in 2021, with all of the goal line work and he’ll contribute through the air as well. He is easily my favorite rookie for 2020 – which I mentioned here – and I believe he is going to return value on the 20th overall pick.

Diontae Johnson, WR (ADP: 56): The Steelers’ receiving corps is going to be probably the most difficult skill group to parse in all of fantasy this season, but we’ll give it a go. Johnson is my personal favorite of the bunch because I believe he’ll see the most volume. Johnson garnered a ton of negative attention because of his bout with the drops, and a benching or two, but if you look at his season he was excellent. He caught 88 passes for 923 yards and seven touchdowns, all significant improvements from a solid rookie season, and he led the NFL’s most pass-happy team in targets. That’s going to continue, as he’s by far the Steelers’ most versatile receiver, and their poor run-blocking means they’ll still throw more than they run. Yes, he’s got stiff competition in his own receiver room, but this offense can easily support three fantasy-relevant pass-catchers. He’ll return value on this ADP.

Chase Claypool, WR (ADP: 72): Claypool is a bit sexier of a pick than Johnson, and he absolutely could be the best WR of this bunch. In fact, I mentioned last season that Claypool reminded me of Mike Evans, and his 873-yard, nine-touchdown rookie year was a reasonable impression. While Johnson’s consistency is his selling point, Claypool’s is his game-breaking ability. Claypool was a home run hitter for fantasy owners; at 14.1 yards per reception, Claypool was reliant on the big play to do damage, and when it wasn’t there he wasn’t of much use to you. He had five games with fewer than 50 receiving yards, and eight games with fewer than five receptions. His size can account for some of these volume issues, as he makes for a humongous and appealing target in the end zone, but he’s a little scary as a Top 30 WR. The potential is absolutely there, but this feels riskier than it seems on the surface.

Juju Smith-Schuster, WR (ADP: 79): Whether you prefer Smith-Schuster over Claypool in this range says a lot about you as a fantasy football owner. There’s no doubt Claypool is a more exciting player to have, but Juju’s money in the bank as long as Big Ben is under center. Smith-Schuster has scored seven or more touchdowns in three of his four NFL seasons and flirted with 100 receptions again with Roethlisberger back. The hopes that he could be a fantasy WR1 that we had after his 2018 explosion are gone, but there’s no reason he can’t be a quality WR2 for any fantasy roster, especially in half-PRR and full-PPR formats. The debate between Juju and Claypool is definitely preference-based, but it also depends on how you’ve constructed your roster thus far. If you have riskier options, Juju can offer a lot of stability, but his output last season is probably his current ceiling.

Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)

Ben Roethlisberger, QB (ADP: 149): The elephant in the room for the Steelers is that Roethlisberger might be shot. The Steelers may have led the league in pass attempts last season, but that was more an indictment of their putrid running game than an endorsement of Big Ben’s ability. This isn’t Tom Brady operating at close to his peak; Roethlisberger was coming off major elbow surgery averaging under 10 yards per completion for the first time in his career. He’s still efficient (5.4% TD, 65.6% completion), but he averaged just 253.6 yards per game despite throwing the second-most passes of his career. PFF graded him as the 25th-best QB in the league last season, and he came in behind Jared Goff, Cam Newton and Andy Dalton. It’s unlikely that Roethlisberger will completely melt down, but he’s clearly declining and he’s immobile behind a subpar line. Ultimately, Big Ben is a good thing for the skill players here, but I don’t view him as a viable every-week starter. QB19 off the board is about right.

Anthony McFarland, RB (ADP: 200): McFarland, a 2020 fourth-rounder out of Maryland, didn’t do a whole lot last season. He rushed just 33 times for 113 yards and failed to find the end zone. He was explosive in college, but with Harris in the mix he’s going to struggle mightily for playing time. The backup spot behind Harris is wide open, but there was nothing from last season to indicate he’s worth drafting.

Sleeper Class (200 & later)

Benny Snell Jr., RB (ADP: 207): Snell, not McFarland, was next up last season to spell James Conner. He was unexciting at best, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry and finishing with 368 yards and four touchdowns. Snell has had his chances the past two seasons and done very little with them; maybe he is next in line behind Harris, but even if he is, there’s not much value. If he has to assume the role, we can assume Roethlisberger’s short passing will serve as the Steelers’ “run game.”

Eric Ebron, TE (ADP: 220): Ebron is never going to be a weekly starter. That much we know. But as long as Roethlisberger is under center, the Pittsburgh passing volume will be high, and that makes Ebron a tasty streaming play in the right matchups. Viewing him as anything more than that is a mistake.

Kalen Ballage, RB (ADP: 317): Ballage is in the mix as well, having walked into the Chargers’ offense last season directly into a major workload. Ballage has a low ceiling because he’s not a threat in the passing game, but the Chargers felt he was effective enough to eat into Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley’s snap count while Austin Ekeler nursed an injury. I’m not sure why, as he averaged only 3.3 yards per carry and offered zero as a receiver, but if you’re speculating on Steelers backups my money’s on Ballage simply because he’s free.

Defense/Special Teams (ADP: 93)

No. 93 is an insane price for a D/ST, but in your draft that won’t be where they go. This has a lot to do with auto-drafting. With that said, they’re the No. 1 D/ST in fantasy and they deserve to be. This defense is loaded with insane playmakers — T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Devin Bush, Minkah Fitzpatrick — and there will be tons of turnovers, touchdowns and maybe even shutouts. I love them and would love to have them on my team. I’d reach (a little) to get them, and might spend $2-$3 in an auction.