Fantasy Football Guide 2021: AFC sleepers, targets, busts, strategies
By Zach Cohen
Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football Guide
This is the end of the line for Ben Roethlisberger, folks. At least, it appears to be. While he was QB14 last season, he offers no rushing upside. If you draft them, you’re hoping he’s throwing 43 times each game again— something which may happen less after Pittsburgh spent their first-round pick on Najee Harris. I just can’t justify picking someone who is clearly on the downturn of his career when passers with higher ceilings are available.
Speaking of Harris, he’s one of my favorite picks in fantasy drafts. He’s walking into an every-down role, which he’s more than capable of succeeding in. He has legit top-five upside behind an offensive line that, yes, isn’t as bad as you think. Maybe I’m overestimating Mike Tomlin‘s re-committal to the run game. It makes sense, though, considering Roethlisberger had a career-low in yards per attempt last season.
Diontae Johnson remains my favorite Steelers receiver to target, especially after seeing the seventh-most targets in the NFL in 2020. While I don’t expect him to repeat that haul, he can be a top-15 receiver if healthy. There are rumors that Pittsburgh purposefully decreased Chase Claypool‘s snap count through the end of the season. I’m not sure why since he was looking pretty good. He has a multi-dimensional role in the Steelers‘ offense, thus increasing his upside. I don’t love him, but I don’t dislike him, either.
I dislike JuJu Smith-Schuster. This is me betting more on his fading involvement in the offense. At not any point in the offseason did I feel like the Steelers coveted Smith-Schuster, hence a late one-year, $8 million contract. Claypool’s rise doesn’t help, either. I prefer other receivers in his range for those two loose reasons. Eric Ebron’s value plummeted when Pittsburgh drafted Pat Freiermuth, who merely has dynasty value this season.