Welcome to the fourteenth part of a thirty-two-part series: Reading the NFL Offseason Tea Leaves. Fantasy football tasseography is deeply rooted in predicting future fantasy fortunes. Some of the team tea cups we'll be looking into may be larger than others. The smallest of cups may have the most alluring blends of offensive weaponry, or be set to bloom after a long steep. This series will aid in your approach to Redraft and Dynasty leagues by bringing you up to date on:

• Free Agency
  • Re-signings, additions, who signed elsewhere, and what it means for fantasy.
• NFL Draft
  • What can we decipher about the direction a team is headed in based on their draft selections?
• Coaching Changes
  • Who's in, who's out, and how do the coaching philosophies translate to fantasy production?
• Fantasy Fortunes
  • What does this all mean for your fantasy football drafts?

Like tasseography, the arrangement of these four topics will vary as we digest each team's offseasons and see how the offensive pieces settle. Each article will interpret what the NFL team discussed here has told us about their future plans based on what they've done since their 2025 season ended.

Reading the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2026 Offseason

Coaching Changes

Mike Tomlin and the Steelers parting ways after 19 years as Head Coach headlines the Steelers' offseason. In his place is Mike McCarthy, the former Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys.

McCarthy will be heavily involved in the offensive game plan and will be calling the plays. McCarthy has run productive offenses behind the arms of Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott. Brian Angelichio is the Steelers' new Offensive Coordinator.

Angelichio has recently specialized as a Tight End coach in the NFL and coordinated the Minnesota Vikings passing game from 2022-2025. Expect the Steelers to shift their focus from defense to offense, which we like for scoring fantasy points.

Free Agency Additions & Subtractions 

The Steelers lost offensive lineman Issac Seumalo and running back Kenneth Gainwell in free agency. Pittsburgh brought in RB Rico Dowdle on a 2-year deal worth $12.25M. Dowdle is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Cowboys and Panthers.

Dowdle is a more physical RB than Gainwell, bringing a different flavor to their run game than Jaylen Warren does. If you follow the money, it's safe to assume the Steelers' RBs are in for another nearly 50/50 split, with both making roughly $6M per year through 2027.

The Steelers re-signed Aaron Rodgers on another 1-year deal worth $22.5M. It is unlikely that we will see Rodgers flourish as he did when he and McCarthy were together in Green Bay. Still, Rodgers in an offense orchestrated by McCarthy is better than the Arthur Smith shenanigans he had to deal with last year.

To give this passing game a reliable weapon, the Steelers traded for Michael Pittman. Pittman will fill a role similar to the one he had in Indianapolis and will likely be Rodgers' favorite target while they play together in the Steel City.

Draft Day Additions

Pittsburgh spent seven of their nine picks on offensive pieces in this year's draft. On days one and two of the draft, Pittsburgh selected offensive tackle Max Iheanachor in round one to bolster their offensive line, wide receiver Germie Bernard in round two, and QB Drew Allar and guard Gennings Dunker in round three.

Germie Bernard is a Deebo Samuel-like player who is a better route runner than Deebo was early in his career.

Penn State alum Allar is a developmental QB who has often been sidelined by injuries. He has the physical profile of a starting QB, but inconsistencies in his accuracy and decision-making dropped him into the third round.

Dunker is a mauler on the offensive line who is best used in power running schemes.

On day three, the Steelers selected three specialists in WR Kaden Wetjen, TE Riley Nowakowski, and RB/WR Eli Heidenreich. Wetjen profiles as a kick and punt return specialist; Nowakowski will be the H-back; and Heidenreich is the hometown hero who can be used in a gadget role to weaponize his skill set as a receiver and rusher.

Steelers' TE Room

TE Jonnu Smith was released by the Steelers in March, leaving Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington as the two starting TEs. In June, Washington signed a 4-year $42M contract extension to remain with the Steelers through the 2030 season. Freiermuth's contract runs through 2028.

These two are the seventh and eighth highest-paid TEs in the league through the remainder of their contracts. It's unclear who will be the starting TE in Week 1. Both players are available at a low enough price point to be in consideration for TE-needy teams, but neither will likely exceed TE2 value in fantasy. 

Fantasy Fortunes 

The addition of Mike McCarthy should excite fantasy managers who are likely used to Pittsburgh finishing in the bottom half of the league in total yards for the past 5 years. There's potential for this offense to be in the top half of the league for yardage if everyone remains healthy with McCarthy orchestrating the plays.

For fantasy, that likely means a QB2, a backend RB2 and RB3, two backend WR2s, and a TE2. In drafts, we'll likely see Steelers players available at undervalued levels. The addition of Pittman, Bernard, and the Day 3 WRs likely means Roman Wilson is off the fantasy radar.

Cam White is a Senior Analyst & Host at Optimus Fantasy. You can find more of his work on our YouTube channel, and make sure to follow him on Bluesky.