Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson (thigh) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s opener vs. the Panthers. He was limited in practice all week. Patterson shouldn’t be in your Week 1 fantasy plans, but his absence would be a slight boost for RB Bijan Robinson.

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson (thigh) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. He went down with this thigh injury in mid-August but seemingly has a shot to play vs. the Panthers this weekend. Patterson isn't a fantasy option but could siphon a few touches from RB Bijan Robinson.

The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue wrote recently that Rams WR Van Jefferson would take over as the team's WR1 should teammate Cooper Kupp (hamstring) not play in Week 1. HC Sean McVay shared on Thursday that Kupp's game status is uncertain after the veteran suffered a setback in his injury recovery the same day. The season-long fantasy impact of this news may not be much, but take note of Jefferson as someone to look at for relief in deeper leagues or certain DFS formats. See where these Rams wideouts appear in our current WR rankings.

On Friday, Steelers beat reporter Dave Lolley took to Twitter to help clarify the team's RB situation. Lolley shared that the "narrative that Jaylen Warren is going to 'surpass' Najee Harris ... is simply not true," adding that Harris is the "clear No. 1" and Warren is the third-down back in Pittsburgh. Warren is the more optimal draft pick from an ADP value perspective. Regardless, both Warren and Harris are still favorably slotted in our current RB rankings. This is yet another reminder that one of the pillars of fantasy is to pursue value above all else. Learn more about our draft philosophy here at Draft Sharks.

The 49ers signed K Matthew Wright. He's insurance for rookie K Jake Moody, who's dealing with a quad injury. Avoid this situation in remaining fantasy drafts and Week 1 lineups.

Steelers OC Matt Canada said Monday that RB Najee Harris remains the team's No. 1 RB. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that," Canada added. It sounds a bit like a coach trying to tamper down any talk of a RB controversy after RB Jaylen Warren's 62-yard TD in Pittsburgh's second preseason game. Canada also said that he'll use Warren "a lot." We don't doubt that Harris will open the season as the Steelers' clear lead back. The question is whether that workload split will shift during the season if Warren continues to run more efficiently than Harris. We recently updated our projections for the Steelers backfield.

The Lions have waived WR Denzel Mims. He arrived via trade about one month ago, but Detroit will let him go with an injury designation (calf, ankle).

The Athletic's Mark Kaboly lists WR George Pickens as one of the winners of Steelers training camp. "That proverbial next step by a second-year receiver appears to be in progress," Kaboly writes. "He’s no longer just a deep-ball or highlight-catch guy like we saw last camp and last season. He has transformed into a more polished receiver with an expanded route tree, and that will do nothing but help [QB Kenny] Pickett and this offense." Pickens made plenty of highlight-reel contested catches as a rookie last season. But the knock on him was that he didn't create much separation, leading to a relatively low target-per-route rate. It sounds like Pickens is on track to earn more volume this season, which would be a big boost to his fantasy production.

Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson will miss a couple of weeks with a soft tissue injury. HC Arthur Smith said he’d have a clearer picture of Patterson’s status following Week 3 of the preseason. Even if the veteran gets on track for Week 1, he’s only a fantasy factor for your best ball strategy.

Mark Kaboly of The Athletic expects little change to RB Jaylen Warren’s role. “Honestly, I don’t see much more of a role than he had last year if [Najee] Harris stays healthy,” Kaboly wrote. Harris played through a foot injury in 2022 but still appeared in all 17 games. Warren averaged 6.5 touches per game overall; nearly 11 over the final month. The second-year back is an ideal RB5.

On Monday, the Athletic's Mike DeFabo reported that Steelers WR George Pickens is making solid impressions at camp. DeFabo writes that while Pickens entered camp with a lot of buzz, he's "exceeding those expectations" between "highlight-reel grabs" and his spirited competitiveness in practice. Another interesting note in this report is that veteran WR Allen Robinson has "has only strengthened his case" to seize the starting slot role in the Steelers' offense through his performance in the "Seven Shots" red zone drill the Steelers frequently run from the two-yard line. Pickens will need to improve upon ranking 38th in drop rate (7.1%), 49th in yards after catch (110), and 40th in PFF receiving grade among 80 WRs who recorded 50+ targets last season. To his credit, Pickens ranked first in contest catch rate (67.9%) of that group in 2022. Still, greater evolution in his route tree is something both DeFabo and the Draft Sharks staff note as something to watch out for before we get too excited about him. Pickens presently sits as a high-end WR4 in our current WR rankings.

Broncos QB Russell Wilson is off to a “slow start” in training camp, per team insider Troy Renck. He’s committed multiple turnovers in practice, but HC Sean Payton isn’t deterred. "He’s doing fine," Payton said. “We are in an installation pattern. As we install, sometimes we put a play in, and it doesn’t really match, and we wouldn’t run it if we were playing Denver’s defense. Throughout this training camp and preseason, you will see things we do well and some things we don’t feel as comfortable about. So, you are constantly building that memory bank of what we are seeing and how we are executing it.” Wilson and the Broncos open the season vs. Las Vegas on September 10.

Bears WR Darnell Mooney said QB Justin Fields's biggest area of growth is his knowledge of the playbook. "There's no confusion there at all,” Mooney said on Wednesday. Per beat writer Courtney Cronin, Fields has called plays himself in walk-throughs during two-minute drills — something he didn’t do in 2022. Entering Year 2 in the same system, it’d be a disappointment if Fields wasn’t showing growth. The arrival of WR D.J. Moore simply adds to his passing ceiling.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes Bears QB Justin Fields has shown growth in training camp. Per Breer: “The ball’s coming out faster, and he’s throwing with more accuracy…[Fields] looks looser out there in large part because he’s moving more efficiently (with improved footwork) and the picture of all that’s around him is clearer to him than it was a year ago.” Chicago’s O-line received a shout-out, too — specifically the arrivals of G Nate Davis and Round 1 rookie OT Darnell Wright. See where Fields sits in our updated fantasy QB rankings.

"A trimmed down Russell Wilson hinted that we are going to see him move around more this season and use his legs more frequently," NFL Network's James Palmer says. He adds that HC Sean Payton is encouraging it and believes "it's still a strength" for the 34-year-old QB. Wilson posted his fewest (13.1) and third-fewest (18.5) rushing yards per game the past two seasons. Although Palmer's report doesn't specifically speak to Wilson rushing for yardage, pursuing mobility more often should help that area. And any rushing boost would help Wilson's fantasy floor and ceiling. He's going at a low-risk, all-reward level in fantasy football drafts so far. See where Wilson sits in our 2023 QB rankings.

Broncos HC Sean Payton fully believes that QB Russell Wilson will bounce back this year. “He’s still got gas in the tank," Payton said, blaming Denver's ugly 2022 season on the previous regime. “There’s so much dirt around that. There’s 20 dirty hands, for what was allowed, tolerated in the fricking training rooms, the meeting rooms. The offense. I don’t know [former HC Nathaniel] Hackett. A lot of people had dirt on their hands. It wasn’t just Russell. He didn’t just flip. He still has it. This B.S. that he hit a wall? Shoot, they couldn’t get a play in. They were 29th in the league in pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball.” On top of what should be a much-improved coaching staff, the Broncos also bolstered their offensive line with the additions of Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers. And the pass-catching corps remains strong. In short, all the pieces are in place for a Wilson bounce back.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth has shown a ton of promise in his NFL career so far. He finished last season as the TE11 in PPR points per game (9.3) in a less-than-stellar offense. Though he logged nine top-12 weekly finishes with a pair of top-24 finishes, Freiermuth finished as a TE3 or worse in his other five games in 2022. But when you look under the hood, his production profile looks much better. Among 27 TEs who received 50+ targets in 2022, Freiermuth ranked sixth in Pro Football Focus receiving grade, sixth in target share (19.6%, sixth in air yards share (19.7%), and sixth in yards per route run (1.68). Better yet, he led the Steelers in targets per route run rate (23%), ranked sixth among all TEs in targets per game (6.2), and seventh in target share (20.9%) following the Week 9 trade that sent WR Chase Claypool to the Bears. What makes Freiermuth's feats in that stretch of time even more impressive is that he ranked 22nd in snaps player per game among TEs (47.8) during that period. Whether or not fantasy managers believe in the strength of the Steelers' offense, QB Kenny Pickett developed a strong relationship with Freiermuth that puts him in fairly high standing in our current TE rankings. Take a chance on him in the later rounds of your drafts this season.

The Lions acquired WR Denzel Mims and a 7th-round pick from the Jets in exchange for a conditional 6th-rounder. That return tells you all you need to know about how Mims' career has gone so far. The 2020 2nd-round pick totaled just 42 catches, 676 yards, and 0 TDs across three seasons in New York. He turns just 26 in October and boasts a 6'3, 207-pound frame with sub-4.4 speed. But consider Mims a long shot for 2023 fantasy value. He at least finds opportunity for a Lions team looking for an outside-the-numbers, vertical threat.

Broncos QB Russell Wilson is coming off a tough 2022. He averaged just 235 passing yards and 1.1 TDs across his 15 games and posted career lows in completion rate, PFF passing grade, and his 7.3 yards per attempt was his second-worst mark among 11 NFL seasons. But don’t forget about how much the Broncos improved this offseason. The team spent big money on RT Mike McGlinchey and LG Ben Powers in free agency and brought in former Saints HC Sean Payton to help right the ship. Plus, fantasy managers did see a slight bounce back from Wilson after the team fired HC Nathaniel Hackett, averaging 24.9 fantasy points per game between Week 17-18. We feel that Wilson can be a quality QB2 in lineups this season. See where he comes out in our current QB rankings.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler passed along an update on the development of Bears QB Justin Fields. "The people I've spoken to out of Chicago say that Fields is 'slingin' it' this offseason,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “And that he's had a nice command of the Bears offense, [OC] Luke Getsy's second year in that system. He's changing plays at the line of scrimmage in OTAs and minicamp, felt good about taking ownership of things, how the offense should be run as a whole.” The coaching staff also wants Fields to be “more decisive” in 2023, with the goal of turning more scrambles into easy completions. While that sounds bad fantasy-wise, Fields was always a long shot to post another 1,100+ rushing yards. He still profiles as a weekly QB1.