Darnell Washington

It's not exactly news that old-school Tomlin desires a return to old-school, run-based, low-scoring football as a way to get the Steelers out of the rut they find themselves in headed into Week 14 against the Ravens. But a real commitment to a tough nosed, presumably run-heavy offensive approach should mean more touches for Jaylen Warren and perhaps Kenneth Gainwell. It might mean more involvement for Darnell Washington, who is very large and physical. The Steelers rank 18th in pass rate over expected this season, and inside the ten yard line they are the 12th pass-heaviest team. Both Warren and Gainwell should be fantasy viable if Tomlin is serious about a reestablishment of physicality.

The Steelers' offense couldn't get much going, but Washington did lead the team in receiving and finish second in targets. Over half of his yardage came on one play where the Bills somehow had small cornerback Tre'Davious White trying to cover and tackle Washington, which was never going to end well. Apart from that, the big tight end wasn't able to get much going, and we'd prefer not to rely on him in fantasy, but he could be a TE2 in deeper formats.

All four of Freiermuth's 2025 scores have come since Oct. 16, but he hasn't caught more than three passes or cleared 40 yards in any of his past five games. Rotating snaps and targets with Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington, Freiermuth is on the outside looking in of TE2 status heading into Week 13 against the Bills.

Washington's emergence -- if you can call it that -- has knee-capped Jonnu Smith's TE2 prospects while making Pat Freiermuth a touchdown-or-bust option, but it hasn't really created any roto value of Washington's own. The big fella is a marvel to watch with the ball in his hands, but his spiked weeks are too difficult to predict to take him seriously as a TE2. The 24-year-old is a classic "more valuable in real life than fantasy" player, at least for now.

The 311-pound TE bulldozed defenders on a catch and run, earning an NFL award and sparking a breakout