Steelers fantasy football: Players to start or sit in Week 6
By Andrew Falce
Diontae Johnson/James Washington
Verdict: Sit ’em
It is time to trend down on the other Steelers receivers not named Smith-Schuster or Claypool. While both James Washington and Diontae Johnson have obvious talent, neither have been able to find much footing in this offense so far. Johnson has proven to be wildly inconsistent, making an amazing play one minute and then dropping an open pass the next. As well, he hasn’t been able to finish either of the past two games, furthering the need to keep him on your bench.
As for Washington, the former second-round pick does a great job at winning contested catches deep. The issue is the Steelers aren’t relying heavily on the deep pass right now. While Washington has great hands, he struggles to do much after the catch in terms of making someone miss. Until the Steelers are regularly attempting deep passes, Washington won’t be a viable play.
On top of all of this, with the emergence of Claypool, it is likely that both Johnson and Washington see a decrease in overall snaps. This will limit both of their fantasy potentials as the season goes forward. While both of these players have obvious talent, the questions with their play and targets going forward will cause both of them to trend down.