All Stats Courtesy Of fantasypros.com
Despite another "subpar" performance in their loss to the New England Patriots on Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers somehow find themselves back in the playoff picture. Oddly enough, there were some on the roster who saw a boot in their fantasy stock.
- Offense -
Quarterback Mitch Trubisky made his first start of the 2023 season on Thursday night. Overall, Trubisky's performance had plenty of ups and a lot of downs, as he finished the game with 190 passing yards with one passing and rushing touchdown. For his efforts, Trubisky is featured at No. 41 among quarterbacks with 38.8 total fantasy points.
For the receivers, it was not a good day for George Pickens. Pickens finished the game with five receptions for 19 yards on six targets. In the last few weeks, Pickens fantasy stock has fallen in small increments. This week, he fell four spots to No. 32 among receivers with 96.2 total fantasy points. In the case of Diontae Johnson, he fared much better, moving up four spots to No. 52 with 65.5 total fantasy points. He finished the game with 57 yards on three receptions and a touchdown.
In the case of tight end Pat Freiermuth, it was another dismal showing, as he finished with 18 yards on three receptions. Yet somehow, Freiermuth moved up two spots to No. 26 among tight ends with 36.7 total fantasy points. This marks the second consecutive week in which Freiermuth's value increased after a weak performance.
- Defense -
Despite coming off a groin injury from the previous week, veteran linebacker Elandon Roberts was arguably the most valuable defender for the Steelers on Thursday night. Finishing the game with 10 tackles, a sack, a pass deflected, and a quarterback hit, Roberts moved up to the 33rd spot among linebackers with 143.2 total fantasy points.
Linebacker Alex Highsmith dropped two positions to No. 48 among linebackers after ranking higher previous week, despite only managing two tackles in the game. In contrast, rookie Nick Herbig had a strong performance against the Patriots, recording seven tackles and one tackle for loss. With 44.9 total fantasy points, he rose to No. 108 as a result of his performance. T.J. Watt, an All-Pro pass rusher, had a difficult day at work after taking a blow to the jaw on the opening play of the game, which caused a concussion. Despite this, he still managed to record five tackles and one tackle for loss before the end of the game. With 203.5 total fantasy points, Watt has maintained his third-place status among linebackers.
Veteran Cam Heyward, who improves with every game he plays, was the team's standout player on the defensive line Thursday night. With a total of 54.4 fantasy points, Heyward moved up to No. 107 among defensive lineman after concluding the game with a sack and six tackles.
Week 15 Steelers Fantasy Stock
- Buy -
- DL Cam Heyward
- LB Elandon Roberts
- LB Nick Herbig
- WR Diontae Johnson
- Sell -
- WR George Pickens
- RB Najee Harris
- RB Jaylen Warren
- S Minkah Fitzpatrick
- DL Larry Ogunjobi