Each Friday during the 2022 NFL and fantasy football season, Eric Karabell will bring his always-reasonable perspective to highlight the biggest fantasy football storylines heading into the weekend's games.
The esteemed Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in his long stint coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers, but things sure aren't going well this season, and they may get worse Sunday against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, a college star in the city, now leads the way, and much is expected of him and rookie wide receiver George Pickens. There's been turnover defensively as well. The fantasy football world, however, seems to be focusing on last season's exciting rookie Najee Harris, and for good reason.
Harris enters Week 6 ranked 27th in PPR scoring among running backs. Last season he finished fourth in PPR scoring at the position, thanks in part to overwhelming volume, and it led to him being a first-round pick in most leagues this season. Tomlin promised the big volume before Harris played an NFL down, and he delivered. This season he promised to lessen his workload, and volume is way down. Harris wasn't efficient last season, but he topped 1,600 yards from scrimmage and scored 10 touchdowns, so nobody cared. We cared that nobody had more touches from scrimmage, not even Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, and no running back caught more passes.
Things have changed in Year 2, and it may be a combination of factors, including the play of the quarterbacks, the difficult schedule or even the fact Harris suffered a foot injury in early August, which the team downplayed. Rumors floated about the team intending to reduce his mighty volume and snap count. Fantasy managers largely ignored those signs, but now they aren't. The 10th pick in ESPN average live drafts is struggling. He rushed 11 times for 20 yards at Buffalo in Week 5, and he caught three passes. Harris is tied for 15th in rushing attempts this season and he ranks 45th among 48 qualified running backs in yards per attempt (3.2). He is tied for 19th in catches among running backs.
For all these reasons, Harris is on the proverbial hot seat for fantasy managers, despite his lofty draft-day investment and the bye weeks starting (no Lions, Titans, Raiders, Texans this week!). Undrafted Oklahoma State product Jaylen Warren handled much of the second half in the blowout loss at Buffalo, though it probably meant little, and some call for him to handle a larger role. Will it matter against the Buccaneers, one of the toughest teams for running backs to accrue fantasy points against? Perhaps not. Perhaps this will be a lost season for Harris, too. Nobody should drop him, of course, but it's getting tougher to trust him as an RB2, and certainly to trade for him.
What fantasy managers would like to see this week is Pickett show poise in the pocket and find Pickens -- yeah, it can be confusing -- and veteran Diontae Johnson down the field. Perhaps a greater passing offense -- and it was better last season with now-retired Ben Roethlisberger -- is all Harris needs to enjoy more running room. Perhaps the Steelers can even get a lead and feed Harris 18 or more rushing attempts, too. It happened nine times last season, only once so far this season. Or perhaps Harris really is hurt. Clarity is always nice, even if not welcomed.
Quarterback
Can the seat get any hotter for Los Angeles Rams starter Matthew Stafford and Denver Broncos starter Russell Wilson? We discuss them in this space each week, but now each has an advantageous matchup. Still, we regularly rank them in the neighborhood of what we did in Week 1. Who are you adding instead? ... Would the Indianapolis Colts really bench Matt Ryan for Nick Foles? Why wouldn't they do this? ... It would be nice to see Jacksonville Jaguars starter Trevor Lawrence get back on track against the Ryan/Foles team.
Running back
It's not as if Rams starter -- and maybe he really isn't -- Cam Akers is losing his role to someone else. Darrell Henderson Jr. had no official rushing attempts. Stafford just throws more. What an odd situation, but Akers should not be in fantasy lineups, if possible. ... Falcons rookie Tyler Allgeier struggled against the Buccaneers, as many RBs do, and the 49ers aren't easy, either. Fantasy managers want to rely on him, but it's tough without a receiving game role. ... When Miami Dolphins speedster Raheem Mostert is healthy and thriving, he gets the ball. Chase Edmonds has had little role since Week 1. We may have to stop ranking him altogether.
Wide receiver
Colts starter Michael Pittman Jr. remains a WR2 in the rankings, but for how much longer? Again, it may not be his fault, but we need numbers. ... Back to the Steelers: Chase Claypool had his best receiving game of the season versus Buffalo, and we will see if the rookie QB can keep it going. Bill Barnwell suggests Claypool needs a trade. ... The 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk has caught seven of his eight targets the past two games, but four targets per game is not enough. ... Lawrence needs to reconnect with Christian Kirk quickly.