Fantasy Football Player Notes

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back took a slight step backward in his second season, falling to RB14 in points per game after a top-5 fantasy season as a rookie. However, his usage metrics were still very strong across the board. Harris still operated as a pseudo-workhorse ranking 6th in opportunity share (70%) and 8th in total touches through the first 17 weeks of the season. Harris also improved drastically after the team's bye week operating as the RB7 in points per game over the last 9 weeks of the season. After tallying zero games with 20 carries through the first 8 weeks, Harris totaled 5 games with 20-plus carries during the second half of 2022. Should the Steelers undergo an offensive surge in Kenny Pickett's second season, Harris could easily get back into the top-tier fantasy RB tier.

After a promising rookie season in which he had 60 catches for 497 yards and seven touchdowns, Pat Freiermuth scored only two TDs in 2022. But Freiermuth drew 98 targets in his second season and finished with 63 catches for 732 yards. The former second-round draft pick from Penn State offers a solid fantasy floor as a key component of the Pittsburgh passing game.

The first quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL Draft, Kenny Pickett had mixed results in his rookie season, averaging 184.9 passing yards per game and 6.2 yards per attempt, and throwing more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (7). Pickett did get less interception-prone and sack-prone as the season went on, and he guided the Steelers to victory in his final three starts. We should probably expect more below-average passing numbers from Pickett in 2023, but he offers value as a runner, having run for 237 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie.