After both Antonio Brown and Jesse James found new homes this season, the players remaining in Pittsburgh have a huge gap in pass production to fill. Guys like JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner immediately come to mind for this role, but considering the Steelers line up in 11 personnel — 1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR — more than almost any team in the league, the tight end position is an important one to keep an eye on. Vance McDonald and Jesse James both set career-high yardage totals in this role last year, and while James leveraged his year into a 4 year, $25 million deal with Detroit, McDonald is back in Pittsburgh for the final guaranteed year on his deal.
Now that James is gone, McDonald finds himself alone at the top of Pittsburgh’s TE depth chart. He set career-highs in targets, receptions, and yards last season, making it clear that Ben Roethlisberger views him as a worthy target. For these reasons, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler is predicting a “monster season” for McDonald in Pittsburgh, citing his athleticism and increased role but also acknowledging that he must be able to stay healthy. McDonald hasn’t played a full 16-game season in his career yet, although he played 15 straight last year after missing the season opener with a foot injury.
I told you back in March that McDonald carried TE1 potential heading into this year. At that time, he was being ranked around TE17 by fantasy experts; now, he’s up to TE9, although our rankings put him at No. 8 at the position. Regardless, the hype around McDonald is growing and for good reason; Steelers pass-catchers put up the 2nd-most receiving yards in the league last year, and now 47.9% of those Air Yards (2,485)and 226 targets are up for grabs – third highest in the league. Somebody has to step in to fill this invaluable void, and while we do love Donte Moncrief‘s upside, McDonald has every shot.
