2025 Fantasy Football Position Battles: Speedy Steelers

Following the two offseason roundup articles on the position battles at QB/RB (here) and WR/TE (here), this entry is the first of weekly news-based updates on competitions around the NFL.

Because these entries are based on recent news, there won't be a specific selection of teams or positions. The order of the blurbs is generally by descending Fantasy ADP of the players discussed.

Watch these fantasy football position battles as training camps get going.

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Mason Taylor vs. Jeremy Ruckert, TE, NYJ

Jets coach Aaron Glenn mentioned rookie tight end Mason Taylor has done "an outstanding job" as a blocker, which sounds a lot like the immediate, effusive praise Taylor received from LSU coach Brian Kelly after Taylor reported his freshman year. 

Taylor became a three-down player immediately at LSU — an unlikely feat in general, and specifically because of the onerous blocking demands Taylor faced even while catching 38 passes for 413 yards and three touchdowns in an offense that featured Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas, Kayshon Boutte and Jack Bech. Taylor needed zero development time at the college level before becoming one of the best three-down tight ends in the country.

On the other hand, the veteran Jeremy Ruckert probably is no slouch himself. The former third-round pick out of Ohio State has mostly been relegated to blocking in his three NFL seasons, so his otherwise poor pass-catching returns aren't necessarily meaningful, especially given how bad the Jets quarterbacks have been.

It might not be easy for a rookie like Taylor to push aside a fourth-year veteran like Ruckert, but Taylor will eclipse Ruckert at some point and nearly all indications with Taylor are that he's the sort to start faster than others.

Justin Fields is likely one of the worst passing quarterbacks in the NFL, and that could limit Jets tight ends in 2025. Fields' struggles as a passer have to do with processing, however — Fields is actually a very accurate passer when he knows where the ball needs to go, and he made Cole Kmet a productive fantasy tight end in 2023.

At 186.5 in the current Underdog ADP, Taylor goes later than players like Zach Ertz (174.6), Mike Gesicki (175.0) and Cade Otton (181.9). The players immediately following Taylor in the ADP are Chig Okonkwo (193.6) and Dalton Schultz (196.3). ADP is certain to be impacted by this NFL position battle.

Head to our advanced fantasy football stats page for advanced NFL stats such aDOT, catch rate, YAC% and more to help you make the best player evaluation decisions.

Calvin Austin vs. Roman Wilson, WR, PIT

The Steelers' WR2 role has been a matter of repeated speculation this offseason — will it be Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson, or some trade target (Allen Lazard?) who has yet to join the team?

It seems like Austin is well established as the incumbent WR2 in the Pittsburgh offense, or at least that was the sentiment expressed by wide receiver coach Zach Azzanni roughly three weeks ago. 

Even if Austin is the WR2 in some sense, at 5-foot-7, 170, there are likely some play packages where Austin is all but precluded by his build. In the event that Azzanni still identifies Austin as the WR2 come September, Austin is still unlikely to play as high of a snap share as any other given NFL WR2.

Austin's sub-package vulnerability could open the door just enough for Wilson (5-11, 185), who even as a smallish wideout is still much bigger than Austin. The Steelers selected Wilson in the third round of the 2024 draft — later than where Wilson was generally projected pre-draft — and with easy sub-4.4 speed it doesn't take any squinting to see why Wilson should be a useful rotational wideout at the very least, and a potential starter with a little luck.

According to Steelers Depot, NFL Insider Aditi Kinkhabwala reported that Wilson had been "working like a man aflame" during OTAs, notably staying late to work with the JUGS machine.

The Steelers prefer to run a two-tight end look with Pat Freiermuth and the massive Darnell Washington straining the defense's power resources, so whichever of Wilson or Austin gets stuck in the WR3 role is unlikely to provide consistent fantasy value. If one holds on as the WR2, however, that player could provide considerable big-play ability since defenses need to gear up for the run and spend so much attention on DK Metcalf.

Austin (4.32 40) and Wilson (4.39) are both capable of providing big plays, however, and if Aaron Rodgers can land his targets deep then either of Austin or Wilson could prove worthwhile final-round picks in best ball drafts. If Lazard or another noteworthy wideout is added, though, then it could render one (probably Wilson) or both all but useless.

For the time being, Austin and Wilson are both all but free at ADP cost. Austin's ADP (191.6) is higher than that of Wilson (213.2), but both players are generally getting drafted at the moment. As long as Lazard stays away those prices should continue to make sense.

How do these player stack up against the rest of the NFL? Visit our fantasy football half-PPR rankings for a list of the top players for the remainder of the season.

Joe Flacco vs. Kenny Pickett vs. Dillon Gabriel vs. 
Shedeur Sanders, QB, CLE

Diontae Johnson told the press that he thinks Kenny Pickett will be Cleveland's starting quarterback. Johnson is likely wrong.

Johnson's basis for assuming Pickett would start is that Pickett has taken the first-team reps in OTAs. What Johnson failed to note is that Joe Flacco hasn't taken any first-team reps, and the specific reason for that is coach Kevin Stefanski already trusts Flacco and gave him the days off, more or less. Albert Breer reported this before Johnson's comments.

Following Johnson's comments, NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe cleared the air further. Whereas Breer simply reported the fact that Flacco was exempted from OTAs due to previously earning Stefanski's trust (there's a pretty obvious unstated conclusion there), Wolfe added unequivocally that Flacco is the favorite to start for Cleveland. 

Of course, Flacco is unlikely to be even an average NFL starter at this point, and the Browns are not expected to be especially competitive. The more the season gets out of hand, the more pressure there will be on Stefanski to give playing time to Dillon Gabriel or/and Shedeur Sanders.

Sanders is already looking worse than he did a few weeks ago, with that said. Sanders managed to incur two substantial speeding tickets since joining the Browns, catching his second one on the same day he was skipping the court hearing from the first one.

This will be one of the most intriguing training camp battles to watch.

Check out where players are slotted on RotoWire's NFL depth charts.

Josh Reynolds vs. Arian Smith vs. Malachi Corley, WR, NYJ

Perhaps it won't amount to much consequence given the passing limitations of Justin Fields and the likely ground-heavy 2025 game plan for the Jets, but someone other than Garrett Wilson has to catch a pass there eventually. It's not clear whether Allen Lazard might still be on the roster.

Regardless of whether Lazard is gone, the expectation is that Josh Reynolds will be the WR2 opposite Wilson in Week 1. Or at least, that's the suspicion of ESPN's Rich Cimini, who declared Reynolds the "clear-cut favorite" to be the second starter at wideout. Reynolds evidently made a good impression on Aaron Glenn during Reynolds' two years with the Lions in 2022 and 2023. 

While Reynolds is likely locked in as the WR2, it's worth clarifying the situations of rookie fourth-round pick Arian Smith and 2024 third-round pick Malachi Corley.

Corley was a player of considerable hype both before and after his draft, because the bruising slot wideout was a memorable highlight and YAC machine at Western Kentucky to the point that he was often compared to Deebo Samuel. One year later, things couldn't look much worse.

Evidently Corley was not just disappointing from a play perspective as a rookie, but even Corley's maturity and work ethic faced some doubt, according to Cimini. Corley was a predictably raw route runner after a screen-merchant collegiate career, and apparently progress has not come easily since then.

If Corley could develop some game as a route runner and earn the respect of Glenn then Corley could project as an eventual fantasy asset, but in the meantime he needs to worry about making the roster.

Smith, by contrast, is a lock to make the roster as a rookie but is a far worse bet to ever provide fantasy utility. Smith is a go-route and decoy receiver, almost entirely. Smith is not competent or well-suited to most base-package routes, especially the sort that go over the middle or require nuanced execution.

What Smith is good at, though, he's very good at: Smith is a blur in a straight line and can track a deep ball fine if the defense cuts him loose. Generally speaking, the defense is always at risk of cutting Smith loose if they don't keep a safety over the top. Smith's utility to the Jets is that his presence forces the defense to either to spread their run defense thin by holding back the safety, or face the prospect of cutting Smith loose in their attempt to stop the run.

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