Steelers fantasy football: Rankings and projections for 2020 season
By Tommy Jaggi
Jaylen Samuels
Projected points: 104.2
Overall rank: 228th
Running back rank: 51st
According to ESPN’s PPR rankings, Jaylen Samuels would be the Pittsburgh Steelers backup running back to own for fantasy football this year. It makes some sense as to why.
Of Pittsburgh’s top four running backs, Benny Snell is projected the least amount of fantasy points in 2020 due to his extremely limited usage in the passing game. Also, he and rookie Anthony McFarland will likely be fighting for additional attempts on the ground in Pittsburgh’s offense.
Though Samuels is only projected to carry the ball 41 times this season, the third-year running back is also projected to catch 41 passes for around 300 yards. If Samuels does indeed stick on Pittsburgh’s active roster, he should be able to resume his role as the team’s pass-catching back.
Unfortunately for fantasy owners, Samuels is hardly a handcuff to James Conner. If Conner goes down, the Steelers are likely to just increase the workload of Snell and McFarland on the ground while keeping Samuels as the third-down back. Samuels is a low-upside fantasy option that you may only want to roster in 16-team leagues this year.