Fantasy Football Player Notes

Russell Wilson is expected to open the season as the Steelers' starting quarterback, but Wilson missed time in training camp with a calf injury, and fellow Steelers newcomer Justin Fields reportedly had a strong camp, so Wilson's hold on the starting job may be tenuous. Wilson is no longer the dynamic playmaker he was during his heyday in Seattle, but he was respectable in 15 starts for the Broncos last year, completing 66.4% of his throws and averaging 6.9 yards per attempt, with 26 TD passes and eight interceptions. Regard Wilson as a QB3 who lacks job security but might be playable in good matchups.

Justin Fields is a dangerous dual-threat quarterback in fantasy football, but how much of a chance will he get to play in 2024? The Steelers acquired Fields from the Bears in a mid-March trade, giving up a sixth-round pick that could become a fourth-rounder depending on Fields' playing time this season. The modest compensation the Bears received -- particularly when there were other QB-needy teams that didn't make a play for Fields -- suggests that the league doesn't value the sack-prone young quarterback as much as fantasy managers may have. Fields now finds himself in the same QB room as Russell Wilson, whom the Steelers acquired earlier in the offseason. There were reports in the spring that Wilson was expected to be the Week 1 starter, but Fields has reportedly been making a training-camp push for the starter's job. Fields has landed in QB1 range in fantasy points per game each of the last two seasons (6 starts minimum), finishing QB5 in FPPG in 2022 and QB12 in 2023. Fields' rushing production fell from 76.2 rushing yards per game and eight TD runs in 2022 to 50.5 rushing yards per game and four TD runs in 2023, but he averaged a career-high 197.1 passing yards per game last season.