Pittsburgh Steelers fantasy football advice

Fantasy football: Where to draft Kansas City Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

Analyzing Kansas City Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster’s 2022 fantasy football ADP and where you should target him in your drafts.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will take the field for a new organization for the 1st time in his career, having spent 5 seasons in Pittsburgh.

Behind the declining QB Ben Roethlisberger, Smith-Schuster struggled a season ago. An injury also left him seeing snaps in just 5 games, having played at least 12 in every other season.

Below, we look at JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s 2021 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

Entering 2022, he is expected to take a big step and ideally will become a star and a top-10 or top-5 wide receiver in the league. The value should be there for the Chiefs’ No. 1 option.

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s ADP: 63.83

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Smith-Schuster has an ADP of 63.83 in redraft leagues, which puts him in the early 5th round of the fantasy draft. His ADP is lower than his teammates Travis Kelce (16.33) and QB Patrick Mahomes (29.88)

Among wide receivers, Smith-Schuster’s ADP puts him 26th at the position, behind the likes of Michael Thomas (New Orleans Saints) and slightly ahead of Gabriel Davis (Buffalo Bills)

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JuJu Smith Schuster’s 2021 stats

Games: 5

Receptions | targets: 28 | 15

Receiving yards: 129

Receiving touchdowns: 0

Where should you draft Smith-Schuster?

Smith-Schuster’s fantasy value should get a massive boost this season as he’s in a pass-heavy offense with 1 of the league’s best QBs slinging the ball.

Smith-Schuster will still struggle to be the team’s primary deep threat, but he should serve as a solid option for Mahomes. Smith-Schuster topped 1,400 yards in 2018.

The ceiling is there, and while he’s struggled the last few seasons, the Steelers’ pass offense was clearly regressing behind Big Ben.

The competition in KC with Kelce will be real, but they’re going to need to fill the holes left by the WR Tyreek Hill trade. Smith-Schuster should have his best fantasy season since 2018.

The Chiefs had the 6th-highest passing play percentage last season. They should again be throwing it often. Smith-Schuster should see a high number of targets, and everything coming out of camp is that the chemistry is there as well.

Draft Smith-Schuster in the 5th round and you could even reach for him into the late 4th.

If the Chiefs’ offense stays elite, which should be less about Smith-Schuster and more about Mahomes, then he will be a great option and even better in PPR formats.

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Fantasy football: Where to draft Pittsburgh Steelers WR Diontae Johnson

Analyzing Pittsburgh Steelers WR Diontae Johnson’s 2022 fantasy football ADP and where you should target him in your drafts.

If there is such a thing as being a 100-reception receiver and still being relatively anonymous, that’s the story with Diontae Johnson of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Johnson has caught 195 passes over the last 2 seasons, including 107 passes for 1,161 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2021. With the Steelers losing 3 wide receivers to free agency (not to mention retired QB Ben Roethlisberger), Johnson and Chase Claypool are the only veteran receivers left as the Steelers offense takes on a much different look.

Below, we look at Diontae Johnson‘s 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

Diontae Johnson’s ADP: 49.29

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Once you get to the lower end of the WR2 position, you start running into No. 2 receivers in offenses expected to be prolific and No. 1 receivers in offenses with new quarterbacks and some uncertainty if the numbers of the past can be replicated.

Johnson checks in with an ADP at 49.29, the 1st receiver after Jaylen Waddle (Miami Dolphins) at 45.34 and directly in front of a mini-run at wide receiver including Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders) at 49.30, Mike Williams (Los Angeles Chargers) at 51.08 and D.K. Metcalf (Seattle Seahawks) at 52.20.

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Diontae Johnson’s 2021 stats

Games: 16

Receptions | targets: 107 | 169

Receiving yards: 1,161

Receiving touchdowns: 8

Where should you draft Johnson?

The problem you have pulling the trigger on drafting Johnson is the anticipated changing of the guard at quarterback. Mitchell Trubisky is a veteran and likely to get the first shot at replacing Big Ben, but the moment he runs into problems, the fan base will be clamoring to start 1st-round draft choice Kenny Pickett.

Johnson has been a consistent high-volume possession receiver, who will likely see his big plays limited, but there is no reason to believe his numbers will fall off the table. A season of 80 receptions for 1,000 yards and 7 touchdowns sounds like reasonable expectations.

The Steelers will need some inexperienced receivers to emerge behind Johnson and Claypool, but don’t sleep on Johnson’s ability to approach 100 receptions. However, this is typically the point in fantasy drafts where No. 2 receivers from proven offenses tend to go before the go-to guy on teams with question marks.

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Fantasy football: Where to draft Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris

Analyzing Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris’ 2022 fantasy football ADP and where you should target him in your drafts.

One of the worst-kept secrets in the 2021 NFL draft was that if Alabama running back Najee Harris was still on the board at No. 24, the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to take him. He came in with the promise of competing for the starting job and took over the position in a huge way.

Below, we look at Najee Harris‘ 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

Harris responded with more than 300 carries, 74 receptions and 10 touchdowns, piling up fantasy points along the way and quickly making the climb to the elite RB1 must-have players.

Najee Harris’ ADP: 9.88

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Harris is a bona fide 1st-round fantasy draft pick and brings what is required of high-end backs — a heavy workload in the backfield and opportunities as a receiver. In 17 games, Harris had 381 touches, accounted for 1,667 yards and scored 10 TDs — everything you look for in a RB1.

Harris’ ADP ranks him as the 5th running back, narrowly behind Austin Ekeler (Los Angeles Chargers) with an ADP at 6.80 and Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans) at 8.42 and narrowly ahead of Dalvin Cook (Minnesota Vikings) at 10.15.

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Najee Harris’ 2021 stats

Games: 17

Carries | rushing yards: 307 | 1,200

Rushing touchdowns: 7

Receptions | receiving yards: 74 | 467

Receiving touchdowns: 3

Where should you draft Harris?

It could be argued that much of Harris’ production as a receiver was because retired QB Ben Roethlisberger was simply dumping off the ball on check-down passes to avoid sacks. But as a fantasy player, you don’t care as long as you get a point for every pass he catches.

How dominant is Harris in Pittsburgh’s offense? The No. 2 rusher was Benny Snell and he had just 36 carries for less than 100 yards and 3rd on the team in rushing was wide receiver Chase Claypool. The Steelers are willing to let Harris be the entire running game and he’s on the field when they’re throwing as well. Oh yeah, and he finished 2nd on the team in receptions.

A case could be made that Harris could be as high as No. 3 on the draft list for running backs, given injuries to Ekeler, Henry and Cook that give them mild red flags. As high as his ADP is, you can’t go wrong with a guy who is being handed the offensive baton as the offense tries to figure out if it’s better off with Mitchell Trubisky or rookie Kenny Pickett. Snap him up if you get the chance.