The Steelers once again competed at the top of the AFC North in 2025, winning the division but ending the season with a third-straight exit in the Wild Card round. Mike Tomlin is out as head coach and Pittsburgh will have a new head coach for the first time in 19 years.
2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Stats (Rank)
- Points per game: 23.4 (15th)
- Total yards per game: 305.6 (25th)
- Plays per game: 58.1 (28th)
- Dropbacks per game: 37.3 (22nd)
- Dropback EPA per play: 0.05 (19th)
- Designed rush attempts per game: 23.6 (26th)
- Rush EPA per play: 0 (7th)
Get ready for 2026 fantasy football drafts with in-depth previews for all 32 teams throughout the summer.
Mike McCarthy reunites with Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh
In is Mike McCarthy as head coach, reuniting with Aaron Rodgers. The former Packers and Cowboys head coach took one year off and gets a chance to install his offense to boost Rodgers once again. The Steelers need the boost out of mediocrity, ranking bottom-third in the league in total plays and total yards per game last season. The team also had a 0.03 EPA per play, good for No. 18 and evidently good enough to win a stumbling AFC North division. Rodgers and McCarthy have won a Super Bowl together and strung together several winning seasons in Green Bay, but with Rodgers nearing retirement, the competitive ceiling is limited.
Passing Game
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, Drew AllarWR: DK Metcalf, Roman WilsonWR: Michael Pittman Jr., Ben SkowronekWR: Germie Bernard, Kaden WetjenTE: Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington
The Steelers’ quarterback situation was once again in a holding pattern until Aaron Rodgers announced his intention to return. The 42-year-old is coming off a 2025 season in which he averaged 6.7 yards per attempt, No. 29 among quarterbacks with at least 250 plays. The Steelers were No. 19 in dropback EPA per play as Rodgers led an offense reliant on a shallow passing game. He threw multiple touchdowns in just six games last season, failing to surpass 300 passing yards in any game and failing to cross 200 yards in five games. Still, he limited turnovers and bad plays with seven interceptions on the season and a 5.4-percent sack rate. Rodgers is in the final season of his career and is risk-averse at this stage, lowering his ceiling but raising his floor. He can still sit in the pocket and make smart decisions, making him a low-end fantasy QB2.
The Steelers have a myriad of quarterbacks behind Rodgers, contending for the heir-to-the-throne role. Will Howard is the front-runner to be the primary backup while rookie Drew Allar comes in with third-round draft capital. Mason Rudolph is a high-floor backup, though he is a candidate to be moved in the preseason should the Steelers choose to keep their young backups to develop behind Rodgers instead. Whichever quarterback wins the backup job in preseason is a good dart throw in deeper leagues; Howard and Allar are worth rostering in Dynasty formats as potential Steeler starters in 2027.
DK Metcalf projects to be the No. 1 wide receiver in the Steelers’ offense again. He caught 59-of-99 targets for a career-low 850 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season. His 37.5-percent contested catch rate was low for a player with size, speed, and a deep target profile, though Rodgers’ dwindling arm strength played a part in a lack of deep ball success. We can take Metcalf’s numbers with a grain of salt given he was in an Arthur Smith offense last season and will get a McCarthy offense more promising for passing-game volume this season. However, optimism is balanced out by added target competition and Rodgers’ low depth of targets. Metcalf is a modest fantasy WR3 for 2026.
Michael Pittman Jr. caught 80-of-111 targets for 784 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns last season. He lived in the intermediate area, averaging under 10 yards per reception for the second time in his career in Indy. The Colts dealt him to Pittsburgh in a salary-shedding move, swapping late-round picks with the Steelers. Pittman is in line for more versatile usage as another veteran for Rodgers to connect with. However, Rodgers’ ball distribution last season indicated Pittman will have limited opportunity for explosive plays. Fantasy managers can expect him to work as a possession receiver again with some red zone usage; Pittman profiles best as a fantasy WR4.
The rest of the Steelers’ wide receiver group offers potential. Germie Bernard was selected in the second round of this year’s draft. With good size and yards-after-catch ability, he will get some looks as the No. 3 wideout. Roman Wilson has had little impact over his first two seasons in the NFL but gets another shot in a new offense that will be more wide receiver-friendly than last season. Speed gives him the ability to be a vertical threat; he will likely need an injury to Metcalf or Pittman to see fantasy-relevant opportunity. Wilson should only be rostered in such a scenario. Bernard is a dart throw in deeper leagues and should be rostered in Dynasty formats.
Pat Freiermuth returns as the Steelers’ top tight end after catching 41-of-54 targets for 486 yards and four touchdowns last season. Arthur Smith threw in much more target competition at the tight end spot last season as Freiermuth averaged a career-high 11.9 yards per reception but career-low 3.2 targets per game. Darnell Washington saw career-highs across the board; his large frame supplements his blocking ability and makes him difficult to tackle with the ball in his hands. The fourth-year tight end out of Georgia broke his arm in Week 17 last season but the Steelers rewarded him with a four-year extension in the offseason. Their commitment indicates Washington will continue to be on the field as a mauling blocker and late-read option in the flats. Neither are strong fantasy candidates but Freiermuth is worth low-end fantasy TE2 consideration while Washington is a deep league dart throw.
Running Game
RB: Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Kaleb Johnson, Eli HeidenreichOL (L-R): Troy Fautanu, Mason McCormick, Zach Frazier, Spencer Anderson, Broderick Jones
The Steelers enter the 2026 season with Jaylen Warren leading a backfield tandem. He was finally freed from out behind Najee Harris and saw a career-high 251 touches last season. Ranking top-20 among backs with at least 100 rushes in success rate and explosive rate, Warren totaled 211 carries for 958 yards. Kenneth Gainwell took many of the backfield dump-offs, but Warren still caught 40 passes for 333 yards. He now gets a new backfield running mate in former Cowboy Rico Dowdle.
Dowdle reunites with Mike McCarthy, coming off back-to-back seasons of over 230 carries and 1,000 yards with the Cowboys and Panthers. Both Dowdle and Warren are used to being a part of running back duos and neither are likely to dominate backfield touches. Warren looks to be more of the receiver out of the backfield while Dowdle profiles better as the downhill runner. Warren has the edge given his tenure in Pittsburgh and familiarity with Rodgers while Dowdle’s familiarity in McCarthy’s system ensures he will at least be the 1B to Warren’s 1A. Warren is a borderline RB2 heading into the season while Dowdle won’t be too far behind him in the RB3 range.
The Steelers also have a pair of young running backs behind the Warren-Dowdle tandem. Last year’s third-round rookie, Kaleb Johnson, disappointed with 28 carries for 69 yards last season and remains buried in the depth chart. This year’s seventh-round rookie, Eli Heidenreich, has versatility, especially as a pass-catcher. Neither player is in line for a fantasy-relevant role but worth mentioning as handcuffs in case one of Warren or Dowdle suffers an injury.
2026 Pittsburgh Steelers Win Total
DraftKings Over/Under: 8.5Pick: Over (+115)
The Steelers’ win total is set right at 50-percent, fitting for a team mired in mediocrity. They have won at least nine games for six straight seasons, albeit under Mike Tomlin. With Rodgers back, the team is still in win-now mode. McCarthy is historically a winning coach, and fans should have an optimistic outlook on offensive improvements. Pittsburgh’s ceiling is capped with a 42-year-old Rodgers and a defense that ranked in the bottom half of the league last season. However, the team has veterans like Rodgers, T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, and more that emphasize a win-now stance and raise the group’s floor.
Given the Steelers are at least running the barely-above-average roster back under McCarthy, a nine-win season seems likely to bet on.
