Five Biggest Questions
1. Is Ben Roethlisberger a QB1?
2. Who will back up Le’Veon Bell?
3. Is JuJu Smith-Schuster a WR2?
4. Will James Washington be fantasy relevant?
5. Is any TE worth drafting?
Will this be the final year of Pittsburgh’s Big 3? Last season I thought Ben Roethlisberger might break up the band after some grumblings, but he reportedly told teammates he plans to play at least three more seasons. Big Ben once again led a high-powered Steelers offense that was sixth in passing attempts, third in passing yards, eighth in yards per attempt, and fourth in passing TDs. Last year’s 10th highest scoring fantasy QB, Ben is off some fantasy managers’ QB1 radars and owns a QB-12 ADP. He’ll be better than his price.
Le’Veon Bell is at a career crossroads in his sixth NFL season. A continually elite RB (when on the field), he’ll either work out an extension with the team by tomorrow, or he'll play under a franchise tag this year in the hopes of landing a big contract somewhere in 2019. Statistically, Bell deserves every penny. He’s also missed 18 games in five years and has been suspended twice in the past three seasons. You draft Bell (RB-2 ADP) knowing he could realistically miss 2-3 games, and that at times he can single-handedly carry you. That’s the trade-off. The handcuff role probably will fall to James Conner or rookie fifth-rounder Jaylen Samuels. The more versatile Samuels lacks three-down-back experience, meaning I’m expecting a timeshare if Bell’s forced to sit. That said, in an offense as strong as this one, it's entirely reasonable to stash Conner or Samuels in very deep leagues.
Antonio Brown posted a 101/1,533/9 line last year, finishing as the #1 fantasy wideout for the fourth straight season. And he played only 13 ½ games. That’s all that needs to be said about the still-in-his-prime Brown. JuJu Smith-Schuster excelled in Brown’s absence and fared quite well even when they shared the field. I did a double-take after seeing his WR ADP is 18, but I get it: he was last year’s 20th highest scoring WR and no longer competes for targets with Martavis Bryant. But he also might face surprising competition from rookie second-rounder James Washington (WR-75 ADP). I'd let an opponent grab J.S.S. at his price point, and instead would target Washington with a late-rounder in deep leagues.
Jesse James peaked last Week 1 with a two-TD effort on six catches. He offered fantasy value only twice more before fading into oblivion. Vance McDonald will be given the opportunity to start Week 1 and never look back. Neither guy is worth rostering for now.