Let’s take a look at the fantasy football outlook for some of the players involved in the trade that sent tight end Jonnu Smith from the Miami Dolphins to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Fantasy Football Outlook: Jonnu Smith Traded to Steelers
Check out the fantasy football news and outlook for the Jonnu Smith trade.
Jonnu Smith traded to Steelers
The Dolphins have traded Jonnu Smith to the Steelers as part of a package deal.
Fantasy Impact
Smith will reunite with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in Pittsburgh after they were previously together in Atlanta. He joins Pat Freiermuth in the Steelers tight end room which makes it a tough situation for both of their fantasy values. They’ll likely be running a lot of 12 personnel.
Ari Koslow
Jonnu Smith Fantasy Football Outlook
His first seven NFL seasons were unremarkable, but Jonnu Smith authored a stunning fantasy breakout in Year 8, establishing career highs in targets (111), catches (88), receiving yards (884) and touchdowns (8). Smith finished TE4 in overall PPR fantasy scoring and TE5 in fantasy points per game. Smith went nuclear late in the season, averaging 6.9 catches and 67.1 yards per game from Week 11 on. He scored seven TDs in those eight games and was TE1 in PPR fantasy scoring over that stretch, averaging 18.6 points per game. But a trade in late June sent Smith to the Steelers, where he’ll share TE targets with Pat Freiermuth. That isn’t necessarily a fantasy death sentence, since Steelers OC Arthur Smith loves using his tight ends, and the Steelers don’t have much firepower. Still, it’s hard to see a path for Smith to remain a top-10 fantasy tight end.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Pat Freiermuth Fantasy Football Outlook
The Steelers have little proven talent at wide receiver beyond new acquisition D.K. Metcalf, but Pat Freiermuth‘s 2025 target outlook is jeopardized by the arrival of TE Jonnu Smith, who went from Miami to Pittsburgh in a late-June trade. Freiermuth had 65 catches for 653 yards and seven touchdowns last year, finishing TE10 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is a former TE coach who likes to keep his tight ends prominently involved. The problem is that Smith like to use multiple tight ends, and Smith is coming off a strong season with the Dolphins.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Jaylen Waddle Fantasy Football Outlook
Jaylen Waddle‘s 2024 season was a huge disappointment, but all hope is not lost. The talent is still there, and Waddle is primed for a big bounceback season. Last year, in the 14 games he played at least 70% of the snaps, his numbers don’t look amazing, but they were solid as he had a 16.3% target share, 1.79 yards per route run, 53.1 receiving yards per game, and 0.092 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Let’s examine the numbers he accrued with Tua Tagovailoa under center and Waddle as a full-time player. We get a clearer picture of Waddle’s talent through the context-distorting muck. In that sample of games, Waddle had 2.14 yards per route run, 64.6 receiving yards per game, and 0.114 first downs per route run. Last year, among wide receivers with at least 200 routes run, those numbers would have ranked 27th, 23rd, and 13th. If Tagovailoa can stay healthy this year, Waddle can revert to the strong WR2 with WR1 upside that we have loved in previous seasons (WR21, WR12, & WR15 in his previous three seasons). The departure of Jonnu Smith also opens up the possibility that Waddle could revisit the slot-heavy usage that he enjoyed in his rookie season. Last year, among 112 qualifying wide receivers, he ranked 30th in separation from the slot. There are multiple outs for Waddle to return to his previous glory in 2025.
– Derek Brown
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