Could Steelers Vance McDonald emerge as a top TE in fantasy football?

The Steelers have never been known for having great fantasy production at the tight end position. Could that chance with Vance McDonald this season?

Even in the days of the Heath Miller, the Steelers have never been known for pumping out elite fantasy production at the tight end position. They would always have tight ends that were unreliable in the amount of targets they received and were hardly relevant for fantasy purposes.

However, that could be about to change with Vance McDonald in 2019.

With Jesse James hitting the market this offseason and signing with the Detroit Lions, McDonald stands to see a significant uptick in snaps in 2019. With more snaps on the field inevitably comes more targets.

We all know Vance possesses the talent to be a prolific tight end in the league. He has a big catch radius and becomes a bruising running back once the ball is in his hands. He is one of the better tight ends in the league after the catch, and has showcased the ability to run great routes.

However, with McDonald it has never been about ability. Vance has never been able to finish a season without injury in his first 6 years in the league.

Last year was the healthiest Vance has been in his career – playing in 15 games. Despite seeing  just 50.5 percent of the Steelers total offensive snaps in 2018, McDonald still managed to 72 targets from Ben Roethlisberger. This led to 50 catches for 610 yards and 4 touchdown – all pretty impressive numbers despite seeing just half of the team’s offensive snaps.

With McDonald undoubtedly being asked to do more in 2019, his stats could increase in a big way. The Steelers also traded away Antonio Brown this offseason – opening the door for well over 100 targets to be spread around to other players.

Fantasy football analyst, Mike Clay of ESPN, has McDonald projected as a top 10 fantasy tight end in 2019.

Because of all of this, Vance could see a substantial increase in targets this season. While it is quite unlikely that Ben passes the ball 675 times this year without one of the league’s most productive receivers, it is entirely possible that Vance could emerge as the team’s number two receiving option in 2019.

The Steelers still have a lot that needs to be figured out on the offensive side of the ball. However, one thing we know is that Vance McDonald stands to be a big part of the picture in 2019. It will be interesting to see if this could be the year the Steelers see elite production at the tight end position.