Steelers WR Diontae Johnson racked up 11 targets among 28 Kenny Pickett pass attempts in Sunday's win over the Falcons. That marked a 39.3% target share, in a game that saw no other Steeler top 5 looks. TE Pat Freiermuth finished 2nd, catching 3 of 5 targets for 76 yards. RB Jaylen Warren was the only other Pittsburgh player to catch more than 1 pass. WRs George Pickens and Steven Sims matched Warren at 2 targets. Pickens caught just 1 ball for 2 yards. Next for Pittsburgh comes the season's 1st matchup with the Ravens, who have been playing the run tougher than the pass.
Steelers WR George Pickens caught 4 of 6 targets for 83 yards and a TD in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. He had 2 other targets wiped out by penalties, 1 an offensive hold and the other a defensive PI. Pickens also dropped a 2nd-half deep ball that would have added significant yardage to his line. WR Diontae Johnson matched Pickens' 4 catches but tallied just 21 yards. Next comes a potential pass-funnel matchup with the Colts and then the soft Atlanta defense.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth doubled his nearest teammate in targets in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. His 12 looks accounted for 28.6% of Pittsburgh's total pass attempts. Freiermuth's 8 catches also doubled the nearest Steeler, while his 79 yards trailed WR George Pickens' team lead. It's the 2nd 8-catch game among the past 4 for Freiermuth, who has seen 7+ targets in 4 straight and 7 of his 8 healthy outings for the year.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson caught 4 balls for 63 yards on 5 targets to lead a lackluster passing effort in Sunday's win over the Saints. TE Pat Freiermuth tied Johnson for the team lead in catches. RB Jaylen Warren and WR George Pickens checked in next at 3 receptions apiece, with rookie TE Connor Hayward the only other Steeler to catch multiple passes. Week 11 brings a Bengals defense that has been better than New Orleans'.
The Bears are trading a 2nd-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for WR Chase Claypool, ESPN's Field Yates reports. It's a steep price for a guy who's been mostly disappointing since a flashy rookie season. Claypool ranks 52nd among 62 qualifying WRs in Pro Football Focus' 2022 receiving grades. His 1.03 yards per route run ranks 57th -- a bit behind teammates Diontae Johnson (1.16) and George Pickens (1.14). Of course, Claypool is still just 24 and brings a 6'4, 238-pound frame with 99th percentile athleticism. There's still intriguing fantasy upside here. Chicago is obviously a rough landing spot, though. QB Justin Fields has been better lately but remains a question mark as a passer. And this is the league's run-heaviest offense. The Bears rank dead last with just 20.0 pass attempts per game. That's climbed to 22.8 over the last 5 weeks -- but that's still not a workable number for Claypool. Consider him a WR4 unless we get a significant increase in passing volume from Chicago. Claypool's departure from Pittsburgh should mean more targets for Johnson, Pickens and TE Pat Freiermuth.
The Steelers managed just 196 passing yards on 40 attempts (4.9 per attempt) in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Eagles. QB Kenny Pickett threw for 191 yards and an INT while taking 6 sacks. WR Diontae Johnson led the team with 9 targets, catching 5 for just 35 yards. TE Pat Freiermuth checked in 2nd with 7 targets and led the team with 57 receiving yards (on 4 catches). WR Chase Claypool posted a 4-45 receiving line on 6 targets. Rookie WR George Pickens managed 0 catches on 3 targets. The team's lone TD came on a 1-yard pass from Claypool to FB Derek Watt. The Week 9 bye will probably be good for this team.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett threw for just 257 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs in Sunday night's loss to the Dolphins. The 72.7% completion rate was nice, but the mere 5.8 yards per pass attempt reveals that the rookie passer couldn't get anything going deep. WR Chase Claypool said after the game that he believes the offense needs "more go balls" to take advantage of the WR talent. We can't argue with that, though it remains to be seen whether Pickett can support his wideouts in that area. Claypool followed a strong Week 6 with a pedestrian 5-41 receiving line on 8 targets. WR Diontae Johnson caught 5 of his team-high 10 targets for 42 yards. WR George Pickens caught all 6 of his looks for 61 yards, including an athletic grab in the end zone for the team's only TD. Pittsburgh gets a tough matchup at Philadelphia in Week 8.
Steelers WR Chase Claypool caught all 7 of his targets in Sunday's win over the Buccaneers to lead the team in receptions and yards (96). He also snagged 1 of Pittsburgh's 2 TD passes. Claypool tied WR Diontae Johnson for the team target lead, with rookie WR George Pickens just 1 target behind. The trio remained close together in targets as well, with all finishing in the 30-34 range.
WR Diontae Johnson drew a team-high 13 targets in QB Kenny Pickett's starting debut Sunday at Buffalo. Pittsburgh attempted a season-high 52 passes in the lopsided loss, but Johnson's looks marked a 25% share. He caught 5 for 60 yards. Chase Claypool followed with 9 targets, catching 5 for 50 yards. Rookie George Pickens led the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (83) while ranking 3rd in targets (8). Pickens' rate of targets per route (16.7%) was actually down from the previous 2 games: 30.8% and 24.1%.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (hip) isn't listed on the final Week 5 injury report. He was limited in Thursday's practice but returned to a full workout on Friday. He should be ready for his usual role vs. the Bills this weekend.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson was added to Thursday's injury report with a hip and limited in practice. That usually means the player was injured in practice. We'll see what Johnson is able to do on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the Bills.
The Steelers are moving forward with Kenny Pickett as their starting QB, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's the logical move after the rookie led Pittsburgh to a pair of TDs in the 2nd half of Sunday's loss to the Jets. Pickett tossed 3 INTs in that one -- but 1 went of TE Pat Freiermuth's hands and the other was an end-of-game Hail Mary. Pickett sits 12th among 34 QBs in Pro Football Focus' Week 4 passing grades (with the Monday night game still to go). He's only an option in 2-QB fantasy leagues for now, but we think he'll be an upgrade over QB Mitchell Trubisky for this Pittsburgh offense. Of course, it'll be tough sledding this weekend in Buffalo
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson led the team with 12 targets in the opener, claiming 31.6% of Pittsburgh's total pass attempts. Johnson caught 7 for 55 yards. WR Chase Claypool drew 6 looks, catching 4 for a mere 18 yards. Rookie George Pickens followed with 3, catching 1 but drawing defensive PI to negate a 4th target. That trio operated as the team's clear top 3 WRs. We'll see whether the QB play can improve to enhance the output going forward. Claypool added 6 rushing attempts for a team-high 36 yards, with a (supposedly minor) ankle injury limiting RB Najee Harris' playing time.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (shoulder) is not listed on the final Week 1 injury report. After limited workouts on Wednesday and Thursday, Johnson was a full go on Friday and said his shoulder is just a pain tolerance issue. He carries a bit more risk than usual in fantasy lineups but still sits inside our top 30 WRs for Week 1.
Search
