Pittsburgh Steelers

Head Coach: Mike Tomlin (10th year)
Offensive Coordinator: Todd Haley (4th year)
Defensive Coordinator: Keith Butler (2nd year)

Depth Chart

Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger, Landry Jones, Bruce Gradkowski
Running Back: Le’Veon Bell, DeAngelo Williams, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Daryl Richardson
Wide Receiver: Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Sammie Coates, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Eli Rogers
Tight End: Ladarius Green
Kicker: Chris Boswell
Defense/Spec Teams: 2015-Finished 21st in yards against and 11th in points against. Finished 3rd in sacks and 6th in interceptions.

Coaching Philosophy

It wasn’t that long ago that the Steelers were a smash mouth, run first offense. That’s not the case anymore as Todd Haley, Big Ben Roethlisberger and company now look to chuck the ball early and often. One nice thing that the Steelers do to help fantasy owners however, is make sure they feed the ball to their stars, both in the passing game and in the running game. They don’t operate a running back by committee, so when Le’Veon Bell is healthy (or not suspended), he’s the guy. If not, then DeAngelo Williams is the guy. Bell missed the first two games of the season last year and then went down for good in Week 8. From Weeks 3 through Week7 when Bell was healthy, DeAngelo managed to get a grand total of 13 carries in five games. The Steelers take care of their superstars.

Fantasy Outlook

Steelers Quarterbacks

I sure hope that’s milk on his beard…

When Big Ben Roethlisberger is healthy, he’s one of the best fantasy quarterbacks in the game. He missed four games last season due to a shoulder injury, but in the 12 games that he played in, he threw for over 300 yards, eight times. He also threw for three or more touchdowns in five games, which made him a very nice guy to have in your fantasy lineup when he plays. Health is a very big concern however, as he’s been in the league for 12 seasons but yet only played in a full 16 games, three times. He’s built like linebacker and he takes a lot of hits, and it’s always a risk counting on him for a full season. Here’s my fantasy advice for Big Ben. I love him. He can be difference maker if you miss out on the top three or four fantasy quarterbacks but if you do draft him, you better take a backup quarterback a little sooner than most. If you want to play it safe, go with a Drew Brees or Carson Palmer. If you want to shoot for the stars, go with Big Ben after the top four quarterbacks are off the board. If you draft him, just make sure you spend on a quality back for if (or when) he misses a few games.

Steelers Running Backs

You have to be high to draft Le’Veon Bell in the first, or even second round of fantasy drafts this year.

Le’Veon Bell…what in hell are we going to do with you??? Last season Bell was suspended for the first two games of the season because he was caught in a car that had marijuana in it. Now this season, he apparently missed several drug tests, causing him to be suspended for the first four games of the season. Here’s what concerns me. This is a contract year for Bell. He apparently gives few enough f@cks about football and a big payday that he just can’t give up the ‘ol sticky icky. His excuse as to why he missed the tests was that he got a new cell phone and couldn’t get reached by the league. Baloney!!! (Yes, I know that’s spelled wrong, but I like this spelling better). He’s one infraction away from missing a whole season and that scares the heck out of me. Throw in the fact that he’s already had two major knee injuries as well as a foot injury his rookie season, and I’m going to stay away from him this year. It’s hard to say that, because when he’s on the field, he’s one of the, if not the best fantasy running back in the game. He’s a dual rushing and receiving threat but for me, it’s just too risky for a guy who obviously doesn’t care much. There has to be a point however where he becomes a value. So where is that? Well, there are at least eight running backs that I would take before Bell right now. Give me Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Ezekiel Elliott, Lamar Miller, Devonta Freeman, Mark Ingram and Jamaal Charles before him. There are also about 15 wide receivers that I like better than him now and that makes me not want to take him before the third round. Buy him at your own risk.

Because of the risk that Bell presents, it makes 33 year old, DeAngelo Williams one of the best handcuffs in fantasy football. I did say that correctly though. 33 years old. Williams performed fantastic last season in relief for Bell. He finished as the number six overall fantasy running back in PPR leagues despite scoring less than three fantasy points in the five, full games that Lev Bell played in. With his age though, I’m afraid his production won’t be this good for much longer. Usually you start to see a decline at age 30 but maybe for him, all those years of splitting time with Jonathan Stewart in Carolina helped him prolong his career. I still think he will be ok this season, but he currently is being drafted in the sixth round and that is way too high for me for a guy who is 33 years old and has the potential to only play a significant role in the first four games of the year. Let someone else pay that price.

Steelers Wide Receivers

My man can dance and play football. If only I weren’t married…

I want to start by saying I am very biased when it comes to Antonio Brown. We both attended the same university, Central Michigan Universtity, so I will always have a special place in my heart for him. Not only that, but he’s had 110 receptions and at least 1,499 yards receiving in each of the last three seasons and he should be the number one player taken in fantasy drafts this year. There really isn’t much else to say about him. He’s that good.

After Brown, the Steelers wide receiver unit is filled out by Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates. Wheaton is entering his fourth season and is in a contract year. With Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant in front of him, he hasn’t had much of an impact in their offense yet. However, in the last six games of 2015, he had 28 receptions for 476 yards and four touchdowns. That was largely made up by a huge week in Week 9 against the Seahawks however, where he had nine receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown. Now that Martavis Bryant is going to be sitting out for the year for four failed drug tests (and two missed ones), it looks like Wheaton could get a lot of action this year. I am a little concerned though because in the first five games of last season when Bryant didn’t play, Wheaton only had a total of nine receptions with only one touchdown and never topped 72 yards. So this year, will we see the Markus Wheaton who was ineffective for the first five games of 2015, or the 200 yard producer from Week 12? I’m going to say that it won’t be a great season for Wheaton. I think it will be good enough to make him a WR3 or WR4 for fantasy purposes, but if you expect him to take over the same production we saw from Martavis Bryant, I think that’s asking a lot. He’s currently being drafted around the eighth round and while I think that may be a round or two earlier than I would personally take him, I think that’s pretty good value for him if you think he’s the 200 yard guy.

The Steelers receiver that I would rather own would be Sammie Coates. He’s entering his second year, is an athletic freak and apparently has done all the right things this offseason. Pittsburgh runs quite a few three receiver sets, so even if he doesn’t beat out Wheaton for the number two job, he could still have quite a bit of fantasy relevance. If he does beat out Wheaton, he could have huge upside. He is currently going in the 12th round or later in mocks and I feel that his upside makes him a better option than Wheaton in the eighth round. Definitely put him on the list of later round fliers this year.

One last name to watch in training camp, is Eli Rogers. He turned a lot of heads at OTAs and beat writers are thinking he could potentially earn some time in the slot this year. He’s not draft-worthy right now, but he definitely should be someone to watch in training camp.

Steelers Tight Ends

Ladarius Green is now out of San Diego, and the shadow of Antonio Gates, and ready to show the NFL what he’s made of. He has long been praised for his athletic ability and potential, but has yet been able to put it on display and show us what he’s capable of over a whole season. There are a few red flags however, that have me concerned. First of all, Antonio Gates is no spring chicken and likely doesn’t have much time left where he will perform at a high level, so if Green was really good, why did they let him walk? It was March when Green signed with the Steelers, so it was well before the draft where the Chargers took top tight end Hunter Henry, that they let Green leave San Diego. What does that say about Green that they let him walk before the draft. Secondly, learning a new offense can often take some time to get accustomed to, so that may limit his production this season. Finally, Green had surgery in January where he had two plates put in his ankle and he still isn’t cutting on it. He should be ready for the beginning of the regular season, but if he misses a large portion of training camp, it could effect his chemistry with Roethlisberger. He’s currently being drafted as the tenth tight end off the board and if it were up to me, I would rather have him as a high upside, backup tight end, rather than my starter. If you draft him as a starter, make sure to draft a quality TE2, just in case he falters.

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