Russell Wilson, George Pickens' Fantasy Impact After QB Agrees to Steelers Contract | News, Scores,

Russell Wilson is set to become a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Wilson has reportedly reached an agreement to sign a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum with the Steelers once he's released by the Denver Broncos at the start of the 2024 NFL league year, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The bargain contract instantly makes Wilson one of the NFL's best values, as he'll carry a cap hit of just $985,000 while collecting around $38 million from the Broncos.

Wilson is coming off a solid-but-unspectacular 2023 season that saw him throw for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions while rushing for an additional 341 yards and three scores. He wound up ranking a respectable 14th among all fantasy quarterbacks and should enter the 2024 season in QB2/bye week starter territory.

Justin Herbert, Kirk Cousins, Joe Burrow and Kyler Murray, who all finished behind Wilson last season due to injury, should leapfrog Wilson in the rankings coming into 2024. Wilson will slot in somewhere in the QB18-22 range, and he does have the upside to re-emerge as a low-end starter if the situation breaks right.

New Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has preferred a more ground-based approach throughout his career, but we can consider Ryan Tannehill's 2020 season—when he finished seventh among quarterbacks—the absolute ceiling of Wilson's potential. Don't expect to use much draft capital on him, though. Spend a dollar at the end of your auction or take a swing with your final non-kicker/defense pick if you believe in Wilson turning it around in Pittsburgh.

The bigger benefactor here should be George Pickens, who finished as WR30 last season after recording 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns. Wilson's arrival pushes Pickens immediately into the solid WR2 conversation, as he'll be playing with by far the best deep-ball passer of his career.

The ability of Wilson to break out of the pocket and launch the ball accurately down the field helped make him a superstar in Seattle, making Pickens a perfect WR fit. Pickens had a pair of monster games in the fantasy playoffs last season after the Steelers replaced Kenny Pickett with the more aggressive Mason Rudolph.

Volume will probably still be a bit of an issue, as Diontae Johnson remains Pittsburgh's most reliable underneath target, but Pickens is a 23-year-old with all of the physical tools in the world. He'll probably wind up slotting in rankings around the WR20-25 range.

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