The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the New York Jets in Week 7. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Steelers skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 7 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Justin Fields, QB
What is best for the Steelers and what is best for fantasy managers doesn’t align in the case of this QB room. Fields’ metrics are trending in the wrong direction, thus the speculation about his job security with Russell Wilson now healthy; yet, he’s been a top-15 fantasy quarterback in four straight games.
The sub-60% completion rate in consecutive games is a concern for a team that just needs stability on the offensive end in order to be competitive. Wilson gives the Steelers a better chance to win over time while Fields gives fantasy managers more of a ceiling at the position.
Sadly, Mike Tomlin isn’t paid to support your Superflex roster.
Russell Wilson, QB
If the veteran gets the nod, this is a good spot for him to separate from Justin Fields to be magnified. When comparing Fields’ numbers to those of Wilson’s last season, they are eerily similar in terms of release time, completion percentage, average depth of throw, and yards per attempt. The major difference among the profiles is passer rating when pressured (a 99.5-67.0 edge in favor of the veteran).
That’s not to say that Wilson is poised to succeed in this spot, but New York’s blitz rate has been trending up and the Steelers currently own the highest pressure rate allowed when the defense brings the heat. Could some of that be Fields’ inability to hit timing routes? It’s possible, but Wilson held onto the ball plenty last season — he just holds the edge in processing capacity and thus the ability to let the play run out.
If he gets the start, I think there’s a decent chance he has success by NFL standards, but he’s not a top-15 QB for me.
Najee Harris, RB
The touchdown was a thing of beauty as Harris flashed the type of agility that we’ve wanted to see from him for years.
In total, he wrung up 122 yards against the Raiders on 16 touches. It was easily his best performance of the season (his longest gain and his first touchdown) and he draws a Jets defense that is on short rest after giving up 152 yards to Ray Davis on Monday night.
NAJEE HARRIS ARE YOU SERIOUS!?
📺: #PITvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/6uP3rKdzdD— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
The likely move to Russell Wilson adds scoring equity to Harris’ portfolio, and with Jaylen Warren carrying six times for just seven yards last week, we might just have a bell cow in Pittsburgh.
For the season as a whole, the Jets are an average run defense and Harris is an average back in terms of efficiency. I worry that this is a low-possession game, and that caps the upside for all players involved, but I’m looking for Harris to assume roughly 70% of the running back carries in this coin-flip game; that results in an average RB2 ranking on my end.
George Pickens, WR
Pickens was WR24 in the season opener, but he’s posted just one top-40 finish since. Fields may be the limiting force, especially with his recent regression to his career mean, but that’s the hand we are dealt for now.
We can address the impact of Russell Wilson taking over if it happens (in the effort of getting ahead of things, Pickens would move up 8-12 spots in my WR ranks) — in this matchup with this quarterback, how can you feel good about labeling Pickens as a top-30 play?
The WR position is deep enough that you don’t need to take on risks like this. There are half a dozen slot specialists who have a fraction of Pickens’ physical tools, but until “physical tools” has a fantasy point total tied to it, I don’t really care.
Justin Jefferson is the only WR to hit 80 receiving yards against the Jets this season, and I expect that to still be the case after Sunday. You can sign me up for JuJu Smith-Schuster, Khalil Shakir, or Ladd McConkey over Pickens for Week 7.
Pat Freiermuth, TE
As the Justin Fields efficiency thing from earlier this season continues to evaporate, the stability of his pass catchers is naturally going with it. Freiermuth has remained effective with his looks (84.6% catch rate), but the target share is plummeting to a point where it’s going to be difficult to justify rostering him.
On-field target share:
- Weeks 1-2: 18.6%
- Weeks 3-4: 18.2%
- Weeks 5-6: 11.3%
Freiermuth’s profile was always going to be fragile, and it appears that the bubble has burst. I reserve the right to buy stock if Pittsburgh hands over the keys to Russell Wilson, but I have no desire to go this direction against a Jets defense that is the best in the league by YPA in defending short passes.