Steelers Fantasy Perspective: Week 2 vs. Vikings
After a close victory against the Browns, the Steelers will head home to take on the Vikings and their strong defense. The Steelers have performed better at home in recent years, but what does that mean for the impact we can expect from the Steelers weapons?
Ben Roethlisberger – Start
Ben Roethlisberger didn’t have a terrible game last week, throwing for 263 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. The thing is, though, is that he typically doesn’t perform nearly as well on the road, so that was a promising sign moving forward. The Vikings are one of the best defensive units in the league, but I wouldn’t let that stop you from starting Big Ben in Week 2. With all of his weapons healthy and available and another week with Le’Veon Bell back in the fold, this offense will look to take some solid strides forward at home. Roethlisberger has typically performed well when playing at home as of late, totaling 20 touchdowns and averaging 319.2 yards per home game in the 6 home games he appeared in 2016. So needless to say, Roethlisberger is a safe start at home this week.
Fun fact, the Vikings defense only allowed one passer to throw for more than 280 yards in 2016 (Aaron Rodgers threw for 308 yards at home). I wouldn’t let that stop you, though.
Le’Veon Bell – Start
Yes, Le’Veon Bell had a rough game in Week 1. Yes, you can make the argument that the Browns are the Browns. Yes, the Vikings are a top tier defense. But this is still Le’Veon Bell, who had another full week of practice to continue to regain chemistry with the rest of the starting offenses.
The Vikings’ ferocious defense will likely prevent Bell from having a performance like he had against the Bills in 2016, but you are crazy to consider benching Bell in any format moving forward, especially at home. Last week, the Vikings held the Saints’ running backs (a group that many, myself included, considered to be the deepest group of backs in the NFL) to just 60 total yards. But the Saints’ offensive line is far inferior to the Steelers’ line and they don’t possess the same talent the Steelers have. Keep Bell plugged in as a starter.
Antonio Brown – Start
There is nothing Antonio Brown can’t do. In Week 1, he caught all 11 of his targets from Ben Roethlisberger, which was the first time since 2014 that a quarterback-receiver tandem went at least 11-for-11 in one game, per ESPN.
After his performance last week and the difficulty of catches that he was forced to make, I think there is little doubt about which player is currently the most dominant in the league: it’s Brown. Xavier Rhodes, one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks, will likely be the players we see lined up against Brown on Sunday. While this would cause most receivers to be benched for this matchup, there are virtually no players in the NFL right now that are capable of stopping the Ben Roethlisberger-Antonio Brown connection. There is no question here.
Start Brown. Always.
Martavis Bryant – Start (with caution)
Martavis Bryant is probably the biggest boom-or-bust player the Steelers have to offer in fantasy football this season. Throughout his limited time on the field for the Steelers during his career, Bryant has been the Steelers primary go-to target down the field. While he appeared on the field for 83% of the Steelers offensive snaps in Week 1, the Steelers took very little shots down the field (if any at all) to their huge field-stretcher.
Bryant only went 2-for-6 on his targets on the day, but his 6 targets averaged 15 yards in the air, so with the exception of the few screens they threw his way, the Steelers still want to break him deep. The entire offense looked out of sync in Week 1 and this was Bryant’s first time in a meaningful game in a season, so you can make the argument that this was the primary reason for his iffy performance.
Trae Waynes will probably be the corner tasked with trying to stop Bryant, which isn’t as easy of a matchup as you would expect. But if the Steelers can loosen the Vikings defense up by getting the running game going and force the Vikings to pay more attention to Brown, Bryant could easily spring a play for one of his trademark deep touchdowns. If you have no other options, go ahead and start Bryant, but don’t be surprised if he has another dud or if he explodes for a huge day. Bryant is the ultimate low-floor, high-ceiling prospect. Fingers crossed.
Eli Rogers – Sit… and continue to do so.
I’m not going to get too involved with Eli Rogers. I love him as a player, but there are simply too many threats in this offense to even consider having Rogers in your lineup unless your league is larger than 12 teams.
Jesse James – Sit (for now)
Sure, Jesse James had 6 receptions for 41 yards and 2 touchdowns. But last season, James only had 3 touchdowns on the season, so it is hard at this point to determine if this was simply an outlier or potentially something we can see more of in the future.
Ben Roethlisberger was pleased with the tight end’s performance last week and clearly was looking for James often in the redzone. The Vikings have given up solid chunks of yardage to opposing tight ends over the past year, but that isn’t enough to start him. It is safe to say at this point that James is a touchdown-dependent player, and that is simply too risky to start at this point. If he continues to see this many targets (he had 8 against the Browns) and is consistently a redzone threat, reconsider down the road. But at this point, keep him on your bench.
Steelers Defense/Special Teams – Start
The Vikings offense looked much improved in Week 1 after being the main cause for their 2016 collapse after a 5-0 start. However, this could be due to the Saints’ below average defense and I wouldn’t expect Sam Bradford to have the same type of performance he had last week.
The Vikings’ offensive line is improved this season, but the Steelers’ front 7 has also made vast improvement and is a stronger group than what the Saints presented. T.J. Watt had a historic NFL debut last week, and the Steelers are expecting Bud Dupree to return to action as well. That, paired with Cam Heyward and Javon Hargrave being forces on the line (Stephon Tuitt likely won’t play), and the Vikings’ offensive line will likely struggle to keep Bradford on his feet and take him out of his comfort zone.
Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph, and Dalvin Cook present exciting weapons for the offense, but the Steelers defense should find a way to contain them. The Steelers defense should be a top-10 unit in Week 2, so feel comfortable starting them.
Chris Boswell – Start
Last week against the Browns, Chris Boswell went 3-for-3 on extra points but did not have a single field goal. This was likely due to the Steelers not looking in sync at all on offense and it is probably a safe bet that that will be Boswell’s worst statistical game of this season. At home, the Steelers offense clicks and had another full week of having everyone back together, so feel comfortable plugging Boswell into your lineups.
