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The Pittsburgh Steelers had an underwhelming season but finished 9-7-1. It was the final year of veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s career with the franchise. The team made the postseason but lost in the first round. The new era is here for the Steel City as they drafted quarterback Kenny Pickett with the 20th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Quarterback
- Mitch Trubisky
- Kenny Pickett
- Mason Rudolph
Running back
- Najee Harris
- Benny Snell Jr.
- Anthony McFarland Jr.
Wide receiver
- Diontae Johnson
- Chase Claypool
- George Pickens
- Calvin Austin III
Tight end
- Pat Freiermuth
- Zach Gentry
- Kevin Rader
Biggest offseason changes
The biggest change for the Steelers was the retirement of Big Ben. The second biggest would be letting JuJu Smith-Schuster walk in free agency. They didn’t take long to replace him as Pittsburgh used two of their seven draft picks on wide receivers. When it comes to the offense, the only other relevant signing was that the Steelers brought in quarterback Mitch Trubisky as a free agent. He signed a two-year deal, which gave Pittsburgh flexibility in the draft, but with the way it fell, they decided to take Pickett.
Biggest questions for fantasy football
Wide receivers Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool will still see plenty of targets, we just don’t know who will be throwing them the football. The thought is that Pickett could be under center early in the season. Only Pittsburgh knows what they are going to do with their quarterback situation.
At the very least, Johnson and Claypool have high floors we just don’t accurately know what their upside is. The good news is that Najee Harris should have another good season. The assumption is that Harris can perform well no matter who is under center with how Roethlisberger played. Pat Freiermuth is in a similar boat and it just depends on how quickly he can build rapport with Pickett or Trubisky.