Burt Lauten reports that the Steelers have downgraded WR Michael Pittman Jr. to OUT for Sunday’s game vs. the Patriots with a foot injury. Pittman ranked No. 21 in targets last season at the WR position and was expected to be a great fit with Aaron Rodgers, but his 2026 season is off to a slow start after missing time in training camp with a hamstring injury and now this foot injury.
DK Metcalf and Pat Freiermuth should get more looks as a result of Pittman missing the game, making Freiermuth a fine streaming option. This likely moves Roman Wilson to the WR2 role and rookie Germie Bernard to the WR3 for the Week 2 tilt against the Patriots. Hopefully Pittman can recover quickly and get back on the field for Week 3’s game against the division rival Bengals.
Roman Wilson delivered a subtle breakout performance in Week 1. He posted a 21.0 Average Target Distance (ADOT) while earning 2.9 yards of separation, matching efficiency metrics put up by Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb.
The third year receiver exploited the Atlanta secondary on deep routes despite not impressing in the official box score. Wilson has established trust with Aaron Rodgers and has seized the No. 3 wide receiver job. Stashworthy in deep dynasty leagues, Wilson is the WR97 on PlayerProfiler’s dynasty rankings with room to rise based on this downfield usage.
Despite early offseason chatter about a potentially wide open offense in Pittsburgh, training camp reports indicate the offense will stay run-heavy, nerfing Germie Bernard‘s rookie year upside. Regardless of the offense’s identity, Bernard has remained parked behind Metcalf, Pittman, and Roman Wilson and will struggle to post a meaningful Target Share in Year 1.
Given his camp struggles, Bernard projects to be useless in redraft. He is also a dynasty league falling knife that will continue to leak lifetime value for the foreseeable future.
Michael Pittman exited practice with a leg injury Saturday and was talking to trainers after leaving the field, and the staff were focused on his right leg. Pittman remained sidelined Monday, with head coach Mike McCarthy offering no timeline for his return. Pittman commanded a 91.1-percent Snap Share and a 21.0-percent Target Share last season, leaving a significant projected target share in question if the issue lingers.
Fantasy managers must track upcoming practice participation to gauge whether his early-season workload is in actual jeopardy. We are considering the injury minor for the time being, and Pittman is PlayerProfiler’s WR36 in fantasy football redraft league formats.
Third-year wideout Roman Wilson—boasting a 40.0% College Dominator Rating with an underwhelming 22.2 Breakout Age at Michigan—is flashing speed and quickness and dominating early targets from quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh training camp. Wilson commanded primary WR3 reps ahead of second-round rookie Germie Bernard, operating behind veteran starters DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr.
Coming off a 2025 campaign where he managed a meager 13.4% Target Rate and 33.6% Snap Share across 13 games, Wilson remains a low-volume option unlikely to command enough target share to matter in 12-team redraft or best ball fantasy leagues. However, Wilson is now an attractive back-of-the-roster stash in dynasty leagues with Pittman and Metcalf both past the age apex.
The Pittsburgh Steelers just secured another WR at No. 47 by drafting Germie Bernard, a versatile separator who pairs a rock-solid 21.8 Breakout Age with the elite short-area quickness verified by a scorching 6.71-second Three-Cone Drill (87th-percentile). Bernard had a 23.4% College Dominator Rating and an elite 9.03 Relative Athletic Score, proving he has the frame and explosiveness to operate in a “Power Slot” role while maintaining a clinical 1.5% Drop Rate.
In dynasty formats, Bernard is now squarely in the second-round conversation of rookie drafts as the potential WR3 for the Steelers behind DK Metcalf and newly acquired Michael Pittman catching balls from QB Aaron Rodgers.
