Antonio Brown is gone. Le'Veon Bell is (officially) gone. Now it's a new offensive era in Pittsburgh — still featuring Ben Roethlisberger.
Will James Conner match his 2018 production? Can JuJu Smith-Schuster fill AB's shoes? What else should we expect from this offense in 2019?
Our analysts rank all their key players by scoring format, project their season-long stat lines and analyze their overall outlooks heading into the season.
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Steelers Fantasy Rankings, Projections
Ben Roethlisberger, QB
- Pass: 382 comp | 589 att | 64.8 comp% | 4,445 yds | 28.5 TDs | 13.9 INTs
- Rush: 29 car | 60 yds | 1 TDs
James Conner, RB
- Rush: 247 car | 1,086 yds | 11.3 TDs
- Rec: 51 catches | 440 yds | 1.7 TDs
Jaylen Samuels, RB
- Rush: 70 car | 305 yds | 2.1 TDs
- Rec: 34 catches | 259 yds | 1.7 TDs
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
- Rec: 106.7 catches | 1427 yds | 9.3 TDs
Donte Moncrief, WR
- Rec: 49.7 catches | 640 yds | 5 TDs
James Washington, WR
- Rec: 44.6 catches | 617 yds | 3.2 TDs
Vance McDonald, TE
- Rec: 55 catches | 682 yds | 5.1 TDs
Note: Projections as of August 22.
>> Get our experts' latest fantasy rankings and projections in our Draft Kit.
Steelers Fantasy Outlooks
Chris Raybon breaks down offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner's playcalling tendencies to forecast who will benefit most.
- Since Tomlin took over as Steelers head coach in 2008, his starting running backs have collectively averaged 17.7 carries and 4.0 targets per game, which falls in line with James Conner last season (16.5, 5.0).
- Much has been made of the extra defensive attention JuJu Smith-Schuster will warrant in Antonio Brown’s absence, but the key is keeping JuJu in the slot. In Year 1 under Fichtner, JuJu’s slot snaps increased from 58.0% to 61.0%. From the slot, JuJu has averaged 14.9 yards per reception and 10.5 yards per target, compared to 11.4 and 7.7, respectively, from the outside.
- James Washington saw 12 deep targets last season, but only two were catchable. He and Ben Roethlisberger also were able to connect on just 4-of-11 targets for 46 yards in the intermediate range. With Roethlisberger’s downfield accuracy becoming increasingly scattershot, Washington may be more Sammie Coates than Martavis Bryant.
