Our 2021 Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.
Below you will find our 2021 fantasy football projections for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams
QUARTERBACKS
| Player | Att. | Comp. | Yards | TD | INT | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Roethlisberger | 604.8 | 390.1 | 4233.6 | 30.54 | 10.28 | 26.2 | 27.5 | 0.26 | 275.25 |
| Mason Rudolph | 42 | 25.9 | 281.4 | 1.95 | 0.95 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 0.02 | 17.83 |
Ben Roethlisberger: After re-signing JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal, Pittsburgh and Roethlisberger return one of the league's best wide receiver trios. In addition, only the one-win Jaguars (66.2%) threw it on a larger percentage of plays than the 12-win Steelers (65.48%) in 2020.
Not pushing the ball down the field the way he had in the past, Big Ben's 9.5 Y/C and 6.3 Y/A in 2020 were the lowest of his career (excluding a two-game 2019 season). Part of that was by design and The Athletic's Ed Bouchette highlights why those peripherals may be better in 2021.
Given that the Steelers used their first-round pick to draft Najee Harris, Alabama's all-time leading rusher, fantasy managers should expect a greater emphasis towards the run in 2021 even though Harris offers a three-down skill set that Roethlisberger could utilize in the passing game.
RUNNING BACKS
| Player | Att. | Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Najee Harris | 271.2 | 1166.2 | 8 | 53 | 408.6 | 2.6 | 247.58 |
| Benny Snell | 52.5 | 212.6 | 1.31 | 9.2 | 65.5 | 0.2 | 41.47 |
| Anthony McFarland Jr. | 39.4 | 161.5 | 0.85 | 6.7 | 51.9 | 0.3 | 31.59 |
| Kalen Ballage | 24.1 | 97.6 | 0.6 | 5.8 | 40.6 | 0.3 | 22.12 |
| Derek Watt | 1.1 | 3 | 0.02 | 1.2 | 9 | 0.1 | 2.52 |
Najee Harris: The all-time career rushing leader in Alabama history, Harris rushed for 1,466 yards and 26 touchdowns and added 43 receptions for 425 yards and four more scores last season. With few holes in his game, Harris will step in as a Week 1 workhorse. Given the team's propensity to feature its lead back, Harris has the chance to outperform his ADP.
Benny Snell: There is competition on the depth chart, but Snell -- or whichever back ultimately slides into the RB2 role -- would become a top waiver-wire add if Harris were to miss any time, especially given how the team historically features one back.
WIDE RECEIVERS
| Player | Rec. | Yards | TD | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diontae Johnson | 88.8 | 973 | 6.9 | 3.3 | 14.9 | 0.02 | 184.71 |
| Chase Claypool | 69.3 | 952.7 | 7 | 10.9 | 35.4 | 0.87 | 180.68 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 79 | 871.4 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.64 |
| James Washington | 24.1 | 336.4 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65.49 |
| Ray-Ray McCloud | 15.4 | 151.3 | 0.4 | 4.4 | 33 | 0.09 | 29.07 |
Diontae Johnson: Tied with Davante Adams and Keenan Allen, no receiver had more games with double-digit targets than Johnson (10). The second-year receiver averaged only 10.5 Y/R, but he turned his 144 targets into 88 catches for 923 yards and five touchdowns. While he needs to cut down on the drops, Johnson should be one of the league's most-targeted wideouts in 2021 even though the team re-signed JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Chase Claypool: Claypool scored 11 touchdowns -- nine receiving and two rushing -- in the regular season and added two more receiving scores in the team's playoff loss to Cleveland. Re-signing JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal takes some steam out of Mapletron's upside in year two, but it wouldn't surprise me if he performed as the team's most productive wideout in 2021.
JuJu Smith-Schuster: After averaging 65.5 and 89.1 yards per game, respectively, in his first two seasons with the Steelers, Smith-Schuster has averaged 46.0 and 51.9 per game in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The Steelers re-signed Smith-Schuster to a one-year contract and he is a WR3 (both in fantasy and on his own team).
TIGHT ENDS
| Player | Rec. | Yards | TD | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Ebron | 45.3 | 467.3 | 3.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92.78 |
| Pat Freiermuth | 16 | 164.8 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.88 |
| Zach Gentry | 2.1 | 22.6 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.91 |
Eric Ebron: In his first season with the Steelers, Ebron finished with 56 catches for 558 yards and five touchdowns. Given the team's talented trio of wide receivers and the likelihood that the Steelers run more often in 2021, Ebron's year-over-year numbers will likely dip.
More Pittsburgh Steelers pages:
- Pittsburgh Steelers Mock Draft Roundup
- Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Power Rankings Roundup
- Pittsburgh Steelers Snap Counts
- Pittsburgh Steelers Franchise Leaders
- Pittsburgh Steelers Draft History
- Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule
- Pittsburgh Steelers Tickets
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