Steelers fantasy football: Players to start or sit in Week 5

James Washington

Verdict: Sit ’em

While James Washington will likely see more snaps than Claypool if Johnson remains injured, his floor is not great. The problem with Washington is that he is a true deep threat. While he can make catches elsewhere, his best potential is to hit a home run deep. The problem is, Roethlisberger has struggled with connecting deep so far, as evident by his couple of misses on open deep plays against the Texans.

While Washington will still nab a couple of catches, his ceiling is limited until the deep passing game starts connecting. He can make plays over the middle, but his lacking true speed and agility make him more of a possession receiver. He makes plays deep due to his impressive hands and great body control, but that doesn’t lead to big YAC on short plays, unfortunately.

While Washington will be a threat for a big splash play, the deep passing game needs to be worked on before he can be counted on for consistent fantasy production. Keep Washington on the bench this week and look for some better fantasy players elsewhere to start this week.