The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key Pittsburgh Steelers players heading into their matchup with the Cleveland Browns to help you craft a winning lineup.
Aaron Rodgers, QB
It took Aaron Rodgers 41 passes (27 completions) to reach 266 passing yards against the Lions on Sunday. If not for a beyond-fortune bounce that resulted in a 45-yard score to Kenneth Gainwell, we would be talking about a game with zero scores and around 200 yards despite reasonable volume.
That said, Arthur Smith is tweaking this offense slightly, and Rodgers is making it work. His nine completions past the sticks last week were not just a season high; it was more than he had in the entire month of December before.
Sadly, it’s too little too late. His pocket-locked, low-octane skill set just isn’t going to cut it in fantasy 2025. He’s struggled to give us anything in the way of usable production, and that’s unlikely to change against an above-average defense.
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Rodgers is playing better than he did early in the season, but that doesn’t make him a viable streaming option as your league comes to an end, especially with the monster that is DK Metcalf on the shelf after being suspended by the league on Monday.
Jaylen Warren, RB
Marino Rivera was great, but the job Jaylen Warren did in closing out the Lions last week was elite (even if the kicking game/defense nearly blew it).
“Back-breaking 45-yard TD run in the fourth” was a note I had jotted down, and that was before his second “back-breaking 45-yard TD run in the fourth”.
Not bad for an RB that didn’t have more than 35 rushing yards in any of his three games prior.
Those are his two longest gains of the season and put him in rarified air when it comes to stringing explosive plays like that together. That said, it was still a split backfield with Kenneth Gainwell, where Warren surrendered some passing game work.
This is a profile you can start, as long as you’re not expecting a repeat of last week. He’s got five games of 15+ PPR points this season, a total he has a chance to build on against the Browns defense that is fading.
Kenneth Gainwell, RB
Kenneth Gainwell had one of the two crazy touchdowns last week (also: Michael Wilson), and that rubber-stamped a solid day at the office.
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Even without the lucky 45-yard TD reception, he had four catches and averaged 5.6 yards per carry against a struggling Lions defense while playing 54.3% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps.
He held a 25-17 edge over Jaylen Warren in routes in the win, something that I think has significant value to end this regular season with DK Metcalf suspended for the next two games.
With exactly seven targets in three straight games and a 25+ yard touch in four of his past six contests, Gainwell is a viable flex who ranks one spot ahead of Warren for me this weekend.
DK Metcalf, WR
Steeler receivers tend to save the viral moments for when they leave Pittsburgh, but DK Metcalf got into it with a fan during the game last week and is now forced to watch his team battle for the AFC North crown.
The league suspended him for two games on Monday after a quick review of what transpired on Sunday in Detroit, and if we are being honest, this may have saved you from making a mistake.
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Metcalf has only four top-20 finishes this season, struggles that have included just one TD catch since Halloween and under 60 receiving yards in nine of his past 10. He did score and turn four catches into 95 yards back in Week 6 against these Browns, so maybe he would have ranked as a WR2 this week for me, but that doesn’t matter anymore.
You’re turning to your bench, not the waiver wire. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has the Aaron Rodgers stamp of approval, and he’ll likely see an uptick in playing time. However, in this conservative offense, it’s hard to get excited about his upside.
