The Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals was the thriller of the week. The game featured a new turn every drive it seemed, and it resulted in Pittsburgh walking away with a win at the last second. Quite a way to start the season against the AFC's representative in the most recent Super Bowl.
Pittsburgh won, but it's clear they have some issues they need to address moving forward, particularly on their offense. They got a lot of help from their defense in this one, but they aren't going to force five turnovers every week. The offense is going to have to figure out how to move the ball going forward if they want to keep up this positive momentum.
The Steelers will square off against the New England Patriots in Week 2, and while the Patriots had a good defensive outing against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, there are some holes in their unit that Pittsburgh should be able to take advantage of, and that bodes well for fantasy football owners. With that in mind, let's take a look at the Steelers top sleeper option that should be on your fantasy roster this week.
Steelers Week 2 fantasy football sleeper
WR George Pickens
The Steelers have a lot of weapons on their roster this season. Najee Harris is a star running back, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool are a dynamic wide receiver duo, and Pat Freiermuth continues to prove he's one of the best tight ends in the game. The wild card in this group of playmakers, though, is rookie wide receiver George Pickens.
Pickens was a second-round pick of the Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft, and had an impressive training camp and preseason slate this summer. But in Week 1, Pickens was largely missing in action, as he turned his three targets on the day into just one catch for three yards. That's not ideal from a fantasy perspective to say the least.
Of course, it's worth noting that Pickens is dealing with a massive question mark under center in Mitch Trubisky. Trubisky was OK on Sunday against the Bengals in that he didn't do anything wrong, but he barely did enough to get the Steelers a win in a game where their defense forced five turnovers. Trubisky is going to limit Pickens' fantasy ceiling if he continues to play like he did in Week 1.
Still, it's clear that Pickens has some upside as a fantasy option this season. Sitting behind Johnson and Claypool isn't the best thing ever, but it also isn't the worst thing either. This will leave Pickens some favorable matchups as he goes against the opposing defenses' third best cornerback option for the most part. He's going to have to do more with those matchups than he did in Week 1, though.
Many fantasy owners that took a flier on George Pickens late in their drafts are already beginning to cut ties with the young wide receiver. Pickens is available in around 55 percent of leagues right now, meaning many folks aren't high on him right now. Who could blame them; he's the third wide receiver on a team with an inconsistent quarterback.
Despite that, Pickens' upside is very noticeable early on in his tenure with the Steelers. He proved in college he has the talent to succeed in the NFL, and playing behind Johnson and Claypool should aid his development in the early going. While it may cap his fantasy output to an extent, Pickens is still in a good situation to succeed with Johnson and Claypool drawing most of the attention off of him.
It didn't work out in Week 1, yes, but that doesn't mean that will be the case every week. The Patriots secondary has some holes, and they don't really have a set third cornerback behind Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones right now. Pickens could see time against Myles Bryant or Jack Jones for most of the afternoon, and he has a huge advantage in the physicality department over both of those guys. That's a mismatch Trubisky should look for if he gets it on Sunday afternoon.
Cutting ties with Pickens so early in the season seems risky given his upside. If he's available in your fantasy leagues this week, now may be the time to buy low on him in hopes he can figure things out with Trubisky moving forward. He certainly could have some favorable matchups against New England this week, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him bounce back after a rough start to the season.
Starting Pickens isn't a great play, but he could become a sneaky good FLEX option later on in the season. If you have the space on your bench to add a sleeper who could end up breaking out later this season, George Pickens is your guy, especially because that breakout game could come in Week 2 against the Pats.
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