Pittsburgh

Steelers

Warren’s sterling 2023 efficiency failed to earn him the starting role over Najee Harris, though Warren will again be a featured play-maker in the Steelers offense. Warren’s eight first-team snaps closely trail Harris’ nine. Warren remains a worthwhile, efficiency-based RB2 in fantasy drafts.

The Steelers maintained their backfield status quo, regularly using both Harris and Jaylen Warren as dual-threat players. PFF’s Nathan Jahnke notes that while the total snap counts between Harris (nine first-team snaps) and Warren (eight first-team snaps) largely remain balanced, Harris’ starter status got him on the field before Warren in each of the first two drives. Harris also impressively forced one missed tackle as a rusher and one as a receiver.

Austin played on nine-of-fifteen first-team snaps as the team’s third receiver. He struggled to produce when lined up in the slot but produced two explosive pass plays and two missed tackles forced in a field-stretching perimeter role. He is only up for consideration in extremely deep leagues.

Jefferson played on 15-of-15 first-team snaps alongside George Pickens, establishing himself as a Steelers starter in two-wide receiver sets. The role be a low-yield endeavor for fantasy purposes but he now profiles as a potential late-round flyer in best ball.

Pickens played well in his perimeter-heavy (86.7 percent rate), No. 1 WR role, notching two missed tackles forced and one explosive, 15-plus-yard pass play. It was a strong showing for the third-year receiver.

New OC Arthur Smith is employing a heavy tight end rotation, featuring Freiermuth (12 first-team snaps), Darnell Washington (eight first-team snaps) and MyCole Pruitt (six first-team snaps). PFF’s Nathan Jahnke notes Freiermuth was worryingly removed from the field for two-tight end sets, which poses a significant threat to his 2024 fantasy relevance.

Fields averaged 11.2 yards per passing attempt and registered an 83.3 percent completion rate but also took a pair of sacks and fumbled two snaps. Fields will have to reduce his errors in next week against the Bills if he wants to have a shot at unseating the injured Russell Wilson (calf).

He appears dressed and ready for preseason action on the Steelers sideline against the Texans this evening. While Patterson may only hold a limited running back role this season, his talents as a kick returner could prove pivotal. Fantasy managers should closely monitor the Steelers’ special teams’ play.

Golden’s decision comes eight days after re-signing with the Steelers. He remained productive in his final NFL season, totaling 5.0 NFL sacks while producing a career-best 17.0 percent pass-rush win rate. He spent seven seasons with the Cardinals, who drafted him in the 2015 NFL draft’s second round. He retires with 53.5 NFL sacks to his name.

According to Russini, the 49ers “would like a receiver in return for Aiyuk” but “are open to players at other positions.” As it stands right now, the Steelers seem like the most likely team to acquire the star receiver, especially with the Patriots now appearing out of the sweepstakes. However, this negotiation appears far from over for the time being. The 49ers have little ground to negotiate a more favorable trade at this time. Their relationship with Aiyuk appears frayed beyond repair at this point, and the downside to keeping him on the roster this season could mean another year of trade/contract negotiations next offseason when they would have to franchise tag him to keep him on the roster. We’ll likely know in the near future if the Steelers are willing to up their current offer or if they prefer to move on from trade discussions.