Steelers Redraft Fantasy Football Outlook: Kaleb Johnson or Jaylen Warren? Will Aaron Rodgers Help Several Pass Catchers to Relevance?

Last week, I wrapped up the dynasty football overview series, so now it's time to start cranking out redraft football previews.

Check out the dynasty articles under the “Dynasty Overviews” section of the 2025 Fantasy Football Draft Kit.

We'll begin with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Every team will be covered before the regular season begins, so keep checking back for more!

Unlike in the dynasty overview series, we'll only be heavily focused on the best players at every position, not every single option, although many guys will be mentioned.

Wish a real fantasy expert could break down your team, not just spit out generic advice? Now you can - get a personalized Team Breakdown, tailored for your exact league.

Aaron Rodgers Fantasy Outlook

Rodgers will quarterback the Steelers' offense to kick off 2025.

He would have been the top-scoring fantasy asset on Pittsburgh's offense if the current team was assembled. Right now, he's at 233rd on the FantasySP Average Draft Position list, going at pick 231.43 on average. He's the 29th QB being drafted.

While I don't think Rodgers should be drafted or rostered in every league, I do think he's being overlooked going into the season. He had 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a passer last season - he rushed for 107 yards and no scores.

Rodgers was QB15 overall last season, and that puts him on the streaming radar. Expecting some regression for his age-41/42 season makes sense, but he'll perform better than several QBs being taken before him as long as he's healthy all season.

He's a fine third QB option in deeper leagues and two-QB setups, and could even pass as a second option at the position in those leagues. Look at him as a streaming option this season, not a weekly option.

Running Back Fantasy Outlook

Jaylen Warren and rookie Kaleb Johnson are the two Pittsburgh backs who will get standard league attention going into the season.

Warren would have finished fifth among all offensive players with the current team the Steelers have. He ranked around RB40 last season overall and is going around pick 82 in drafts so far. Warren is the No. 31 RB so far.

Warren has at least 593 total yards in each of his first three seasons. He went for 821 yards, but just one score last season across 15 games.

Warren split the backfield with Najee Harris over the years, and now should split the workload with Johnson. That will likely hold him back from being a weekly starting option, but he's at least a flex option in most setups.

There's a decent chance he finishes ahead of several guys going ahead of him, but for him also to be passed by guys being drafted after him. He has fantasy value because he'll be involved weekly, but has a limited fantasy ceiling unless he becomes the lead back.

Johnson was the team's third-round pick this offseason. The nearly 22-year-old has better dynasty/keeper value and is going around pick 62 and is RB26 so far.

Most expect Johnson to lead the backfield by the end of the season, and I'm in that boat. However, I think he and Warren will put up pretty similar numbers, so it's fair to have them ranked so close together in early draft data.

Johnson has a little more upside than Warren at this point, but again, is probably just a flex-level option most weeks. Without a super high fantasy ceiling, Johnson probably isn't the best starting option then.

He'll have favorable matchups in which he can thrive in, and if he indeed gets a couple more touches per game than Warren, Johnson has the chance to become something special over time. 

I'm still viewing Johnson as a secondary RB option, not a weekly starter in standard leagues. He is a good option in deeper setups and can start in those leagues weekly in most matchups.

This backfield will be one to monitor in the leadup to the season.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook

DK Metcalf should lead the new-look Steelers' wide receiver room. Robert Woods and Calvin Austin III are the other projected starters, while Scotty Miller, Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek are the top backups.

Metcalf would have been the team's third-highest scoring fantasy player in 2024. He's going around pick 49 so far, and is the 21st wideout off draft boards.

Over 15 games last season in Seattle, Metcalf had 992 yards and five touchdowns. It was the third time in his career that he finished below 1,000 yards - he's had at least 911 yards in those three years.

He's the clear No. 1 wideout on the team, and should have enough talent around to have opportunities to make plays again this season. Having to connect with a new QB is a slight downgrade for him, but with both players being experienced, I'd expect that connection to be strong in 2025.

Metcalf has the chance to outperform his ADP by the end of the season, but some concerns and minor injury issues over his career makes his current mark pretty solid, in my eyes.

Austin would have been the sixth-highest fantasy scorer among this current offense for the 2024 season. He's going around pick 260 and is WR80.

In other words, Austin is not being drafted in many standard leagues and is a bigger deep-league asset. He had 548 yards and four total scores over 17 games last season. Those were up from his rookie season, but still not super impressive.

Austin should be pretty involved in the offense this season, but might be the No. 3 option amongst pass catchers so far. In leagues where returners earn points, he could earn a couple more as a punt returner.

Austin will be a waiver wire option in most standard leagues to kick off the season. He'll need to consistently deliver to be more than a streaming option this season. Austin is a weekly flex option in deeper leagues, but again will need to deliver somewhat regularly to deserve a starting spot.

Woods only had 203 yards and no scores over 15 games with Houston last season. He hasn't been over 500 yards since 2023, and the last time he went for more than 650 yards was 2020.

Woods isn't on the ADP list, which goes up to 112 receivers. He's a lottery pick in some deeper leagues, but should sit the bench or be unrostered in those leagues until he proves something.

Wilson is another Pittsburgh receiver worth mentioning here. He's going around pick 294 and is WR88 so far.

I'm pretty surprised to see him even there, as he failed to do anything in his lone NFL game as a rookie in 2024. He was the team's third-round pick, so many are still high on him because of that.

He's got a chance to start over Woods, but he'll likely open the season as the fourth- or fifth-best pass catcher on this offense. Wilson is worth a spot in some deeper leagues, but should be avoided in standard leagues, unless something changes in a big way between now and the start of the season.

Wilson will be on the bench for most deep-league owners until he shows anything in the regular season. He could work his way into standard leagues with a couple good showings, but again, that doesn't seem all that likely at this point.

Keep an eye on him, but Wilson might just be a deep-league option all season - if he can stay healthy that is.

Tight End Fantasy Outlook

Pittsburgh has two capable tight ends in Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth. The trade for Smith was needed to give the team another pass catcher, but it might end up meaning no tight end stands out this season.

Among the current offensive group, Smith was the top fantasy finisher among RB, WR or TE last season. He was TE4 overall.

He had 883 yards and eight scores over 17 games while in Miami. It was easily his best season over eight NFL years, and he's likely to regress in his first year in Pittsburgh.

There's room on this offense for Smith to still star, and I like his chances of being the second-best fantasy pass catcher on the team. However, with Freiermuth still around, I think Smith will be more of a weekly option than a weekly starter.

Freiermuth had arguably his best season in 2024, going for 653 yards and seven scores across 17 games. He's had an up-and-down career, and now the addition of Smith is going to cap his upside.

I could see both TEs still playing a ton each week, and that could make both guys decent fantasy options. There's rarely two startable tight ends on one NFL team, and I think Freiermuth might get the short end of the stick this season.

Smith is going around pick 123, while Freiermuth is at pick 209 on average. Smith is TE13, while Freiermuth is TE26. I think Freiermuth's spot is pretty good, although I could see him finishing around TE20 too. I think Smith has top-10 upside still, so he's a great value pick at his current ADP.