Steelers Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 7: Aaron Rodgers, Jaylen Warren and More

We just took a look at the Cincinnati Bengals best fantasy football options, and now will do the same for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the other half of Thursday's game.

Check back later for a DFS lineup for that contest.

Having trouble deciding who to start in week 6? Let the FantasySP start/sit tool help you make a decision.

Aaron Rodgers Fantasy Outlook

Rodgers has led the Steelers to a 4-1 start, but he hasn't been a top-end fantasy talent so far. 

He's completed 68.8% of his passes for 1,021 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. Rodgers has 12 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

Rodgers had his second-best fantasy outing a week ago, but it was just his second game over 15 fantasy points in five tries. He's at least been in double figures every week.

The projections absolutely love Rodgers this week, as his 20-point projection is tied for the third-highest mark of the week. His matchup is just slightly above average, with Cincy allowing 18 points per game to opposing QBs.

I'm not as high on Rodgers, but him at No. 17 is about as high as he's going to likely get this season. He's a sneaky good fantasy starting asset for week 7. 

Feel free to start him in some deeper leagues this week. I don't see him as a standard league option, as I think there's better options, even if the matchups are worse.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Jaylen Warren has served as the Steelers' top back this season. Kenneth Gainwell has been the top backup, while rookie Kaleb Johnson has struggled to get rolling.

Warren has 184 rushing yards on 54 attempts, while catching 13-of-14 targets for 153 yards and a score. He missed a game, so he's played four total. Warren had 13 touches in last week's game.

Gainwell was at 12 touches in week 6. He has 176 rushing yards and three scores on 41 attempts, while adding 79 yards on 19 catches and 22 targets as a pass catcher. He starred in week 4 with Warren out, getting 25 of his touches then.

Johnson has just 14 touches across 26 offensive snaps this season. He's rushed 14 times for 36 yards, while failing to catch his lone target. Johnson has six touches in back-to-back games, but not much fantasy production.

The Steelers' backs have an elite matchup tonight, as Cincy has allowed the most fantasy points of any team to running backs. That means a couple guys could be good fantasy options - and that you can get creative with DFS lineups.

Warren is projected for 13 PPR points this week, while Gainwell is at 11. Johnson is projected for just two points.

Warren is my No. 11 PPR back in my top-30 week 7 rankings. Gainwell is ranked 30th, so I'm really high on the Pittsburgh backs.

I see Warren as a must-start guy in all league types given the matchup. Even if he loses touches to Gainwell, I see Warren delivering a nice fantasy total tonight.

Gainwell is a flex-level option, but should be inserted into an RB spot if you are starting him, so you can use the flex spot later in the week. I'm on board with both as standard league guys though.

Johnson could maybe surprise, so in really, really deep leagues, I wouldn't mind utilizing him. It's definitely a risk, but he could do enough with five-or-so touches to deliver a nice fantasy showing.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

Calvin Austin is out with a shoulder injury, so the Steelers' wide receiver room is a bit thinner than usual.

That means more will be on the plate of DK Metcalf, who leads the team's pass catchers by a healthy margin. Scotty Miller, Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek and Ke'Shawn Williams are some other wideouts who could factor in with Austin out.

Metcalf has played 248 snaps this season, making 19 receptions across 41 targets for 356 yards and four scores. Metcalf had nine targets last week, and has scored in double figures every week. He's scored a TD in four straight games, so we'll see if he can keep that streak going.

Miller is at just 61 snaps on the season, and failed to bring in his only target. Wilson has played 59 snaps, catching two of his three targets for 19 yards. Skowronek has a 22-yard touchdown across two targets in 45 snaps played, while Williams has no targets and just one snap played.

With Austin out last week, Miller played 26 snaps. Wilson was at 15, Skowronek 10 and Williams one. None of those guys are viable fantasy options as a result.

Cincy has done a nice job of keeping wideouts out of the end zone, but they still allow a good amount of fantasy points to receivers. Unsurprisingly, only Metcalf is in the FSP wide receiver projections - he's set for 15 PPR points, which is a healthy amount. 

I have Metcalf in my No. 11 spot among my top-30 PPR wideouts for week 7. I think he will be targeted early and often, and deliver another big fantasy score for his owners.

I'd avoid everyone else in a standard league. I'd take them in the order of snaps played last week, but also try to avoid them all in deeper leagues. The lack of wideouts means more passing game work for the running backs and tight ends.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

Speaking of tight ends, Pittsburgh has Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington, Pat Freiermuth and Connor Heyward, so they could replace some of the snaps that Austin and other wideouts would normally take.

Smith is the top fantasy asset of the bunch, but has just 89 yards and a score on 17 catches and 20 targets this season. He's played 171 snaps and has at least three targets in three straight games, but has topped out at four targets in that span as well.

Washington has played 164 snaps this season, catching six of his nine targets for 82 yards. He has eight targets over the past two weeks, including five last week.

Freiermuth has played 133 snaps, making eight grabs for 76 yards across 11 targets. He had just one target last week, and none the game before that.

Heyward has 18 yards and a score on two catches and targets over 36 snaps this season. He scored last week.

It's another top-end fantasy matchup for Pittsburgh players. Cincy has allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends so far.

Smith is the only Steeler TE in the projections - he's set for 10 PPR points. Washington is set for nearly five points, while Freiermuth is just over six and Heyward at under two.

I like Smith of the bunch, but not a ton. In fact, he didn't make my top-25 fantasy TE for week 7. I see him as a better deep-league starting option, even in the best matchup possible.

I think Washington could be a sneaky good asset tonight - he's a fun DFS option. Freiermuth could re-join the mix too, but I like Smith and Washington over him based on recent stats. Heyward would be a dart throw, but after his score last week, there's worse options in super deep fantasy leagues or DFS contests.

Kicker Fantasy Outlook

Chris Boswell still kicks for the Steelers. He's 9-of-11 on field goals and perfect on 12 extra point tries. 

The projections like him, as he's set for nine points this week - that's tied for the second-highest mark. 

The game is set for 44.5 points, and I like Pittsburgh to win. Boswell should get enough scoring chances to deliver a nice fantasy score, so I could justify starting him in any league type.

Defense/Special Teams Fantasy Outlook

The projections also like the Steelers - or maybe they just like going against the Bengals? Anyways, the Steelers DST is set for eight points, which is tied for the top mark this week.

The Steelers' defense has allowed 1,778 total yards and is giving up just 21.4 points per game. The team has a whopping 10 takeaways in five games, and that's after not having a takeaway in week 6.

Pittsburgh has 20 sacks as well, so while they can give up some yards, the big splash plays make the DST a good weekly option. In this matchup, I'd be happy to start the DST in any league type.