Fantasy Football Profile: Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky

It’s looking increasingly like Mitch Trubisky is going to be the guy in Week 1 for your Pittsburgh Steelers. The immediate successor to Ben Roethlisberger will be tasked with distributing the football to the team’s variety of talented skill players while navigating the troubles of a suspect Offensive Line.

But how will he fare as a Fantasy Football asset in 2022? The answer is complicated for a variety of reasons.

Player Profile

Age: 28 Experience: 6 yrs

Height: 6’2” Weight: 220

2019 Fantasy Stats:

Passing: 326 COMP/516 ATT/3,138 YDS/17 TD/10 INT

Rushing: 48 RUSH/193 YDS/2 TD

Points/Rank: 212.82 Pts/QB26

2019 Review

I’m pulling the stats from 2019, as that was Trubisky’s last full season as a starter for the Chicago Bears. Matt Nagy’s offense was a gigantic flop, and Trubisky suffered from horrific offensive line play and a relatively poor cast of weapons, not to mention a a dysfunctional front office and coaching staff that got way longer of a leash than it should have.

Trubisky wasn’t even on the radar as a reliable fill-in, finishing as the QB26 behind guys like Gardner Minshew, Andy Dalton, and Jacoby Brissett. So, not good.

The following year, Trubisky was benched in favor of Nick Foles despite being 2-0 and not playing horribly. He played only 10 games for Chicago in 2020. Needless to say, the astronomical expectations placed on him as the 2nd overall pick of the 2017 Draft were never met, especially considering the superstar emergence of his classmates Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson who were selected after him that year.

2022 Outlook

Trubisky’s year in Buffalo backing up Josh Allen seems to have helped reset expectations and take a lot of the pressure off his shoulders. He seems ready to take on the new challenge ahead of him as the starting QB for the 2022 Steelers.

Mitch has several things going his way now: a stable organization with an all-world coaching staff; a plethora of weapons ready to take the league by storm; a play-caller in Matt Canada that will cater to his strengths with a scheme that moves him around with bootlegs and play action concepts. He’s looked good in limited Preseason action as well, posted a 70+% Completion Percentage and a 115 QBR.

The big negatives are an OL that has looked somewhere between disastrous and meh, and a short leash with the rookie sensation Kenny Pickett breathing down his neck. There’s a real danger Trubisky gets replaced at some point this season, whether it’s because his bad OL gets him injured or subpar play forces the Steelers to turn to the rookie.

If Mitch does in fact play the entire season, it means he’s playing well and the Steelers are contending. That should also translate to some level of Fantasy success, as the cast of receivers in Pittsburgh might be the deepest in the league if you include tight end Pat Freiermuth and running back Najee Harris.

Trubisky’s ceiling is fairly high. If he plays clean and distributes the ball well, he could easily provide top end QB2 production and be a popular streaming option during Bye weeks and in Superflex leagues.

On the flip side, Trubisky’s floor is quite low. He has yet to display the unflappability the position requires of its elites, and despite the aforementioned talented skill guys around him, a lot rests on his shoulders to take advantage of that group. The OL will likely give him fits as well, specifically early in the season while the unit continues to (hopefully) gel.

In the end, I expect the final result to lie somewhere in the middle. Trubisky will have his serviceable, even week-winning, outings. But he probably isn’t a consistent enough producer to warrant drafting, save for maybe deep or 2-QB leagues. That being said, keep him high up on your streamer watch list.

Projected Fantasy Stats

(Based on a full season as starter)

Passing: 350 COMP/3,500 YDS/24 TD/11 INT

Rushing: 50 ATT/180 YDS/ 3 TD

Points/Rank: 250.0 PTS/QB18