Fantasy Analysis: Pittsburgh Steelers

Welcome back football fans. Today we examine the much-maligned Pittsburgh Steelers to finish our tour of the AFC North. If you’re like me then you have no love for Steelers or their mostly obnoxious fans (I know you aren’t all that way). Here’s a piece of conversation showing why I feel this way:

Me: The Steelers weren’t very good last year. They only went 8-8.

John: Well Big Ben did get hurt and he has no running game to help him out.

Random Steelers fan that nobody was talking to: Ok, but we have six rings. How many does your team have?

Me: Just one

John: None

Okay, so it’s not quite like that, but still, we know how many rings the Steelers have, you don’t need to remind us. And here at Fantasy Sparks while we may not like a team we strive to remain unbiased. With that out of the way let’s begin.

Ben Roethlisberger: If you’ve been listening to the football analysts then you know Big Ben’s season was split into two separate parts: before he was hurt and after he was hurt. Or as I like to call it: before he played the Chiefs and after he played the Chiefs. But personal fandoms aside, before week 10 Big Ben put up 2203 passing yards with 16 TDs and only 4 INTs. Those are very solid numbers, but when he went to play the Chiefs he got hurt about halfway through and his stats suffered for it. He only managed 1062 passing yards, 10 TDs and 4 INTs. However he’s coming back healthy, but he’s lost his best weapon in Mike Wallace. I’d play him for matchups, not regularly, unless he plays at a high level.

Le’Veon Bell, Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer: The Steelers had an awful run game last year between Redman, Dwyer, and Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall is no longer on the time, but he was a nonfactor last year anyways. Redman had only one game that was over 50 yards last year and that came against the New York Giants. Stay away from him. Dwyer flashed a little bit more potential but was still bad overall. Le’Veon Bell, on the other hand is an unknown. He was drafted in the second round so the Steelers will likely look to him to lead the rushing attack. Whether he will be any good at the pro level is something to watch for in the preseason.

Heath Miller: Heath Miller was ranked the 4^th best fantasy TE last year. And with good reason, he led the team in receptions and was only 20 yards shy of tying with Mike Wallace for the most receiving yards on the team. Without Mike Wallace that trend will only increase, draft him high.

Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Markus Wheaton: With Mike Wallace gone, Brown’s 787 yards and 5 TDs will only increase. He’s worth a number two receiver on your team at the minimum. Emmanuel Sanders, on the other hand didn’t have a bad year for a number 3 receiver and he may move into the number two position. So it’s possible his fantasy relevance will increase but there is a potential roadblock in the way: Markus Wheaton. Wheaton was drafted in the third round in clear response to the loss of Mike Wallace. While he definitely won’t replace Wallace’s production immediately he could step into the number 2 position depending on how the Steelers feel about him. In summary, draft Antonio Brown and keep an on eye on the other two just in case.

Shaun Suisham: He was the 14^th ranked kicker last year. He’s solid but there are better guys out there.