Pittsburgh Steelers fantasy football: Week 1 start em/sit em

The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the most fantasy football relevant offenses in the NFL. Each week we’ll will take a look at the Steelers that should start on your fantasy team and those that should remain on the bench.

Quarterback:

Ben Roethlisberger: Sit

Big Ben is a borderline starter in a twelve team standard league. In week one I lean towards sitting him on the road against the Browns. The Quarterback position is very deep and past history suggests that Ben could struggle in game one.

It is a road game and Ben’s road struggles are more than just a myth. Over the past four years, Ben has scored fifty points less a season on the road. He is also facing a team that should be improved and controls the ball more effectively. He has also been prone to poor games against Cleveland in the past.

Running Back:

Le’Veon Bell: Sit

He can’t score fantasy points if he doesn’t play.

James Conner: Start

Without Bell, Conner is in a position to have a very successful fantasy week. He is no Le’Veon Bell, but he was talented enough to warrant a third-round pick in 2017. The Pitt product didn’t carry the ball much last season but he is primed for a heavy role in week one. I don’t expect nearly the workload Bell would receive but enough to warrant a fantasy start.

Wide Receiver

Antonio Brown: Start

Brown is the best wide receiver in the league and barring injury I would give him the start every week. On top of that, I believe every receiver gets a boost in volume without Bell around and a new offensive coordinator.

JuJu Smith-Schuster: Start

The Browns defense might be improved but I still believe this is an excellent matchup for JuJu. I also expect the team’s receivers to see increased volume without Bell. New offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner is expected to lean more heavily on the passing game as well. I see JuJu as a borderline top 20 option at the position this week.

James Washington: Sit

I really like Washington and think he is very talented, however, he doesn’t have the experience or body of work to be a week one starter. He is someone who could eventually develop into a flex play later in the season.

Tight End

Vance McDonald: Sit

The Steelers seem to really like what they have in McDonald and he is a talented player. Recently, however, it has been difficult to get top end fantasy production from a Steelers tight end. On top of that, I expect Jesse James to take a portion of the tight end touches as well.

Jesse James: Sit

I like Jesse James. I just don’t see him getting enough volume to be fantasy relevant outside of a Vance McDonald injury.