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The Pittsburgh Steelers will have some major changes this season. We typically see Ben Roethlisberger as the starting quarterback, but this season it will be different. Last season, the Steelers pulled off a miracle by making the playoffs. They lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round, however it was impressive to see Pittsburgh make the playoffs compared to where they were just a few weeks previous.
It will be a relatively new team this season as they also lost JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Trai Turner, and Stephon Tuitt. Their big signings in free agency were Mitch Tiribusky and Myles Jack. Trubisky has a great chance at being the starting quarterback for the Steelers this season. With their first round pick, the Steelers selected Kenny Pickett and the hope is that he’ll be the quarterback of the future for them.
In this series, we will look at the most important fantasy football position battles for each NFL team. Opportunity is king in fantasy, as you can’t produce fantasy statistics without getting on the field. So, the first step when looking for value plays is to project — correctly — which players will win training camp battles.
Here’s a look at our picks to win the training camp battles for the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of your 2022 fantasy football drafts.
QB battle
Kenny Pickett vs. Mitchell Trubisky
Our pick to win: Mitch Trubisky
Experience is the big reason we believe Trubisky will win the starting job for at least the first few weeks of the season. When Trubisky was drafted early in the first round, scouts raved about some of his tools. Since being drafted by the Bears, Trubisky hasn’t had the best career. After serving as the starting quarterback for the Bears for four season, Trubisky signed with the Bills to serve as the backup quarterback. That hopefully helped him develop a bit more, especially under such a good offense.
In his last full season as a starter, Trubisky completed 199 out of 297 passes for 2,055 yards, 16 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Pickett is coming off a tremendous year at Pitt where he completed 334 out of 497 passes for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He was also a finalist for the Heisman Award. I expect the Steelers to let Pickett learn the system for his first season in the NFL.
WR battle
George Pickens vs. Chase Claypool vs. Diontae Johnson
Our pick to win: Diontae Johnson
One of the biggest questions in free agency is what Diontae Johnson will do. He’s been clear that he wants a new contract and he’s voiced that publicly. Johnson is coming off a tremendous season where he caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns. Between Johnson and Claypool, Johnson has been the much better player the pas few seasons.
For rookie George Pickens, the ceiling is high. We saw him make some tremendous plays at Georgia and if it weren't for him tearing his ACL last season, he could've been a first round pick. Some scouts were concerned about his character, but I think he will be fine in the NFL. He’s a big time playmaker who will have a lot of success in years to come.