Aaron Rodgers To Re-Sign With Steelers: What Does It Mean For Fantasy Football In 2026?
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Aaron Rodgers To Re-Sign With Steelers: What Does It Mean For Fantasy Football In 2026?

Adam Pfeifer breaks down what Aaron Rodgers' return to Pittsburgh means for fantasy football in 2026.

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He's back like he never left because, well, he didn’t.

At least not really.

Aaron Rodgers is officially set to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2026 season, his 22nd in the NFL. Rodgers’ first season in Pittsburgh wasn’t anything to write home about, throwing for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns, but he gave the Steelers a stable, veteran presence at quarterback to allow them to do what they do best—finish above .500 and get bounced in Round 1 of the playoffs. 

It was expected that Rodgers would be under center for Pittsburgh this season. But now that it’s official, let’s break down exactly what it means for our fantasy football purposes. 

PIT_steelers-logo.svgAaron Rodgers Fantasy Football Value With The Pittsburgh Steelers

You know, it would have been a little funny if Mike McCarthy agreed to coach the Steelers, only for Rodgers to not return. McCarthy and Rodgers are set to reunite after spending over a decade together in Green Bay. McCarthy brings over a different scheme that could actually help Rodgers and this passing game generate some more explosives. 

Under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith over the past two years, Pittsburgh ranked 30th and 25th in use of 11 personnel (three receivers), deploying it 46% of the time during that span. This offseason, the Steelers traded for Michael Pittman Jr. and drafted Germie Bernard, signaling a potential shift. When McCarthy was running the Dallas offense from 2020 to 2024, the Cowboys deployed 11 personnel around 66% of the time. Pittsburgh has some talented tight ends on its roster. But getting the best, most explosive pass catchers on the field more often should help Rodgers, especially at this stage of his career. 

Of course, Rodgers only averaged 14.6 fantasy points per game last year (23rd) and offers nothing in the rushing department. So he’s unlikely to suddenly reemerge as a fantasy starter. But this offense could, at the very least, be more fantasy-friendly. As things stand, Rodgers holds a consensus rank of QB30 in our fantasy football rankings.

PIT_steelers-logo.svgDK Metcalf, Michael Pittman and Steelers WR Fantasy Football Outlooks For 2026

Pittsburgh traded for Pittman this offseason, and I immediately believe he steps in and leads this team in receiving. He may not have the overall talent and upside as DK Metcalf, but he meshes with Rodgers much better, which is more important. 

As his career has progressed, Rodgers has become a lot more reliant on quick-hitting slant routes and timing concepts. Over the last two seasons, no quarterback has targeted slant routes more than Rodgers (96). Pittman, meanwhile, was often used on such concepts, especially on RPO plays, during his time in Indianapolis. This past season, his 15 targets off slant routes were good for the eighth-most in football. The way Pittman wins correlates with where Rodgers wants to go with the football, which is why he’s my highest-ranked Steelers wide receiver. 

Metcalf, meanwhile, remains a player I likely won’t be drafting at all this summer, barring any changes. For starters, despite competing for targets with Pat Freiermuth, Calvin Austin and Adam Thielen last season, Metcalf still could only muster 6.6 targets per game and a 22% target share. And to make things worse, because the Steelers ran so much 13 personnel last year, Metcalf ran 59 routes where he was the only wide receiver on the field, the most among receivers. Yet, Metcalf only averaged 12.5 PPR PPG, ranking him outside the top-24 fantasy receivers. 

He and Rodgers were rarely on the same page on vertical passes. Rodgers ranked 23rd in football in pass attempts of 10-20 air yards (81), while Metcalf caught just 15-of-38 targets of 11-30 air yards. The connection just wasn’t there, and because Rodgers can’t handle pressure like he once could, I’d expect Pittman to be the first read over Metcalf more often than not. And the Fantasy Life fantasy football projections seem to agree, giving the new guy the slight edge in targets.

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The only real case I can make for Metcalf is that, even at age 43, Rodgers is better than the likes of Drew Allar and Will Howard. And the additions of McCarthy and rookie wideout Germie Bernard should make this Steelers offense sustain more drives, giving Metcalf more scoring chances. But he’s going to see way more target competition this season, especially if we assume Pittsburgh sees a significant bump in 11 personnel. When that happens, Bernard will settle in as the WR3, but given his ability to play inside and outside, he could rotate with Pittman as the team’s slot receiver. Even with an expected uptick in passing under McCarthy, it is unlikely Rodgers and the Steelers can support three fantasy-relevant wideouts, but Bernard should have every opportunity to see plenty of snaps as a rookie.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Aaron Rodgers
    AaronRodgers
    QBPITPIT
    PPG
    13.3
    Proj
    245.5
  2. DK Metcalf
    DKMetcalf
    WRPITPIT
    PPG
    10.2
    Proj
    176.3
  3. Michael Pittman
    MichaelPittman
    WRPITPIT
    PPG
    9.4
    Proj
    159.6
  4. GermieBernard
    WRPITPIT
    Proj
    92.6

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