2024 Pittsburgh Steelers fantasy football preview

The 2024 season will be a big one for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are coming off yet another disappointing season, albeit a one-game over .500 season, where they were easily ousted by the Bills in the first round of the playoffs. Head coach Mike Tomlin continues to claw out enough victories to end with a respectable record, but the offense has been the weak point for a while now.

The need to improve Pittsburgh’s offense led to some big changes this off-season, as the team cleaned out their quarterback room, dumping Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Mitch Trubisky. To replace that group, they brought in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, with Wilson as the starter heading into training camp. And to lead the offense, they signed former Falcons head coach and Titans OC, Arthur Smith, to take over in 2024.

Pittsburgh let their No. 1 wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, go in a trade, while adding Michigan WR Roman Wilson in the draft, while also adding help on the offensive line with their first two picks.

Below we’ll take a look at the starting offensive players and take a look at how they might perform for your fantasy football teams this season.

Russell Wilson, QB

All signs point to that starting quarterback job being Wilson’s to lose. The Steelers were looking for more consistency out of the position and that also means not trying to do too much, which can be a problem for backup Justin Fields. Arthur Smith’s offense is run oriented with short passing to running backs and tight ends and then deep shots to outside wide receivers to keep defenses honest. Running at peak efficiency, Smith’s offense was able to make Ryan Tannehill a fantasy value in Tennessee, but he was unable to replicate that in Atlanta with an old Matt Ryan and then a host of mediocre backups thrown into a starting job.

Wilson had a bounce back year statistically in 2023, as he threw for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and ran for 348 yards and three touchdowns in 15 starts. It wasn’t great, but compared to his 2022 season with the Broncos, it was a nice turnaround statistically. His fantasy points ranked him 15th in a per game basis, as his rushing numbers helped boost him a little.

The good news for Wilson is that Smith does like to get his quarterbacks running the ball, but the bad news is that he rather the running backs and tight ends get consistent touches over the wide receivers. Add to that a lack of playmaking receivers outside of George Pickens, and Wilson won’t have a big group of explosive plays to work with.

Overall, Wilson is worthy of a bench spot on your superflex fantasy teams that use two quarterbacks, but his upside is quite low as it is.

Justin Fields, QB

We can’t count on Fields ever taking a snap in 2024, but we can see scenarios that get him on the field and putting up good fantasy points as well. There is no doubt that Wilson isn’t the difference maker he once was, while Fields ability as a runner is some low hanging fruit for the Steelers offense. If Wilson can’t produce on the field, we know Fields can at the very least give them a spark on the ground. There are other reasons to like Fields in a Smith run offense, as Smith likes his QBs running with the ball and passing deep, which are Fields’ best attributes coming into this season.

Fields could possibly win the job outright during the preseason, but I believe that will be an uphill battle. Wilson’s inability to get the ball in the end zone, a poor record late in the season, or a Wilson injury are the most-likely possibilities for Fields to take over the job.

If Fields can take over the job, he quickly becomes a strong fantasy start due to his ability as a runner. That fact makes him more enticing than Wilson in fantasy, but since he’s likely the backup, it will be tough to hold a spot on your roster for him. In dynasty he is a must hold, but in redraft he’s probably not worth drafting unless you have a deep bench.

Najee Harris, RB

Harris ended up putting together an okay 2023 season after two strong 100-yard games against the Seahawks and Ravens to finish the year. Overall he split time with Jaylen Warren and only had four games in which he averaged over 5-yards per carry and eight games where he averaged under 4-yards per carry.

Harris saw his receiving work take a big hit with Warren integrated into the offense more in his second season. That change should be permanent, as Warren will continue to be the main receiving back. With Smith as the OC, Harris should still be used in the passing game though, just not as the top target out of the backfield.

Harris’ fantasy upside is limited with Jaylen Warren as his running mate, as Warren continued to win snaps as the 2023 season went on. Overall, Harris had 606 total snaps to Warren’s 546 along with 284 touches to Warren’s 210. Smith will give both backs a lot of work, especially when you consider they’ll be split between the two for the most part. His backs led the league in total touches last season in Atlanta and that likely won’t change in Pittsburgh.

With an uptick in offensive line stability, I like Harris to still get a lot of work, along with goal-line usage, but Warren has a lot of juice and if I’m going to bet on one of the two, it would be Warren.

Jaylen Warren, RB

Last season Warren proved he was a more efficient back than Harris statistically and made it easier for the Steelers to decline his 5th-year option. The Steelers could still sign Harris to a lower price-point than the option, but there’s no doubt the team isn’t sold on him being the every-down back moving into the future.

There are plenty of efficiency stats that have Warren head and shoulders ahead of Harris, but we do need to keep in mind that Harris dealt with early downs and more defenders in the box. I believe Warren is the better runner and more explosive back, but Harris is still a back that deserves work.

And with Arthur Smith giving over 500 touches to backs, no single back is going to take on the bulk of that work. The question is what will the split look like? Will Warren see even more targets this year? Will he get more looks near the goal-line? Will the offense be better overall? I want to believe these questions all are answered in the positive for Warren as the team is better on the o-line and at quarterback and will want to see if Warren can handle a lead back role moving forward.

I’ll draft Warren ahead of Harris in all PPR leagues, but his ADP isn’t low enough to consider him a steal this season.

George Pickens, WR

Pickens had a strong sophomore season, as he caught 63-of-106 targets for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. His 18.1 yards per reception led the league. And now, with Diontae Johnson in Carolina, Pickens has the No. 1 receiver job wrapped up and hopefully a better QB and offensive line to get him better targets. Of course, we do have to take into account Arthur Smith possibly sending him to Drake Londonville. Despite being the Falcons WR1, London ended up averaging just 6.8 targets per game last season. Both Wilson and Fields are adept at the deep ball, so there should be some big plays like last season, but we can’t bank on volume.

I’ll be wary of drafting Pickens this season, but it’s also good to know he has that top job sealed up. He’s currently going off the board as WR28 and 48th overall. I prefer Zay Flowers, Amari Cooper, Tee Higgins, and Chris Godwin in that area of drafts at the moment.

Roman Wilson, WR

Wilson is a wild card, as he’s a rookie going into a situation that isn’t looking great for receivers. The good news is that he should be given plenty of chances to be the WR2 right out of the gate. The bad news is that he’s going to have to show he’s a difference maker early on to have any shot at being fantasy relevant this season. He’s very much worth a roster spot in dynasty leagues, but leave him on the waiver wire for now in redraft.

Pat Freiermuth, TE

Freiermuth had two decent seasons his rookie and sophomore years, but last year he dealt with a hamstring injury and an awful offense led by a poor set of quarterbacks. But, as long as he can stay healthy, this season is set up much better for him.

Better o-line play is always a plus for tight ends, as it can help free them up to get off the line, so the investment in the early rounds of the draft should help. But, the biggest factors should be Smith’s propensity to use tight ends in his offense and the lack of proven targets in the offense. If things go well for Freiermuth, there is a real chance he could lead the team in targets.

Final thoughts

Overall, this Steelers offense, even if it doesn’t hit on all cylinders, should be useful for the running backs and tight end based on usage. If it does hit, Pickens could rise out of the ether to be more than just a WR3 in fantasy, but I’m not going to bet on that just yet.