Pittman, Metcalf expect to face Falcons in Week 1

Pittman didn’t practice once last week, so a limited session today is a big step in the right direction. Germie Bernard took his spot in the lineup on Sunday and caught four passes for 35 yards, but he also coughed up a drop that was then intercepted by New England. The mistake all but guarantees his return to the bench once Pittman is healthy.

McCarthy said Pittman is making good progress in his recovery, but noted that this is not the same injury he sustained during training camp. Pittman did not practice leading up to last week’s game against the Patriots and will likely need to log a few limited sessions to have a chance to suit up this week. Germie Bernard ended up seeing eight targets in Pittman’s absence against the Pats, but Aaron Rodgers’ dink-and-dunk style of play makes any receiver in this offense hard to trust for fantasy purposes.

Metcalf had an inefficient day, finishing fifth on the Steelers in yards despite leading the team in targets. He was unable to get open downfield and Aaron Rodgers’ struggles made many intermediate targets fell incomplete. Metcalf dropped a critical third-down pass in the third quarter, continuing his drop issues from last week. A second straight inefficient week despite a high volume of targets makes Metcalf a rough fantasy play moving forward. Despite Michael Pittman’s absence, the fantasy points are just not consistent for Metcalf in the Steelers passing game. He will be a low-end fantasy WR3 for Week 3 against the Bengals.

Pittman was unable to get on the practice field this week and will now miss Week 2 as a result of a foot injury. DK Metcalf enters the WR2 discussion in a difficult matchup on paper after ranking in the top five in expected fantasy points in Week 1, for an offense near the top of the league in pass rate over expectation in their first game. Third-year receiver Roman Wilson and rookie Germie Bernard see an uptick in value, although both are difficult starts outside the deepest of leagues. Tight end pat Freiermuth can be started as a back-end TE1 in a pinch.

Pittman did not practice at all this week. If he plays, he could be fairly limited. We tentatively expect him to be inactive on game day, though. Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth had a solid role last week and could take on No. 2 pass-catcher duties if Pittman indeed cannot play. Steelers WR DK Metcalf will almost assuredly take on a larger role, operating as the team’s receiving focal point.

Metcalf caught just 4-of-10 targets in Week 1 and was flagged twice for offensive pass interference while struggling to make contested catches. It wasn’t ideal. But Rodgers’ words should sooth any thought of bumping Metcalf down the ranks just yet. “I’m not worried about DK at all, man,” Rodgers said.

Pittman was limited yesterday, before no-showing during the portion of practice open to the media today. Typically, that series of events suggests the player suffered an injury during practice. He should be considered questionable to play in Week 2 against the Patriots at this point. Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth could end up being the biggest beneficiary, potentially operating as the team’s No. 2 target earner if Pittman cannot play.

This is a new injury for the Steelers’ leading receiver. Typically, limited sessions on Wednesday are nothing to worry about, but since it is a new injury and we do not know when it happened, checking in on his Thursday status will be worthwhile. If Pittman is unable to play, it would negatively impact QB Aaron Rodgers’ outlook.

Those 58 yards made him the team’s leader in receiving. As we’ve come to expect from Pittman Jr., the majority of his work was done in the intermediate areas of the field, but that’s where Aaron Rodgers loves to throw the ball these days. Pittman Jr. ran a route on 42 of the team’s 46 dropbacks and has a large role in the offense. He remains just a FLEX option due to the low ceiling of Pittsburgh’s offense overall.

It could have been a much bigger day for Metcalf, who dropped an easy 20-yard catch over the middle of the field and also a potential long touchdown pass. The touchdown pass would have been a difficult grab in tight coverage, but it did hit him in the hands. Metcalf ran a route on every dropback for the Steelers, but Aaron Rodgers continued to show that he’s far more comfortable over the middle of the field than deep down the field at this point in his career. That will continue to make Metcalf a TD-dependent option in fantasy.