Van Jefferson did not excel in his role this season. (Pittsburgh Steelers)
This week, UNC Coach Bill Belichick said the Lombardi Trophy should be renamed for his former quarterback, Tom Brady; The Dallas Cowboys have locked up Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay to a multi-year extension; and now that ex-Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy will not land the New Orleans Saints head coaching job, he says he’s not planning to coach in 2025.
Pittsburgh Needs WR Help
Remarkably, the Pittsburgh Steelers have never finished with a losing record in the Mike Tomlin era, which dates back to 2007, but they were unable to build on their 2023-24 season, once again finishing with 10 wins and getting knocked out in the Wild Card round.
The biggest disappointment here was that things seemed to be headed in a different direction this season until a horrific late-season collapse, one that we documented after Week 17, but continued into the finale, and of course, the playoffs.
They have now lost six straight playoff games, so how do the Steelers move forward?
It’s clear that offensive improvements need to be made here, especially with the rushing, but who will be there to usher that in is still a mystery. Hell, given that both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are free agents, there still isn’t clarity about who will be running the offense. At running back, Pittsburgh did not pick up Najee Harris’ fifth-year option and Jaylen Warren is an RFA, so who knows who will be carrying the rock in 2025.
Wide receiver depth is a key need in Steeltown because as things stand it’s a mess.
No. 1 receiver George Pickens’ production was hurt by injuries, but he still enjoyed a pretty solid season. Calvin Austin III took a nice step forward in his sophomore season, and also provided a boost to the punt return game, but Van Jefferson – despite scoring a big TD in the playoffs (see below) and being slightly better after a woeful 2023 – still hasn’t come close to looking like the weapon he was back in 2021. Jefferson will be an UFA this winter and it seems unlikely the team will prioritize bringing him back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFizFsc2dPI
Expect Pittsburgh to deal with this situation in the offseason; even if they add a WR through free agency, it will surprising if they don’t use at least one, more likely two picks to beef up this positional weakness.
A Worthy MVP Candidate?
Seeking a longshot candidate for Super Bowl MVP? How about Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (+3000 to take home this honour as per FanDuel)?
Back at the start of the season, we were pretty much bang on with our expectations of him, suggesting he’d pull in at least 45 yards receiving in his first NFL game (he got 47), but he showed typical rookie inconsistency throughout the first half, only topping 40 yards one more time over the next eight games.
But then came the second half, and Worthy really began to step up, going over 40 yards in each of his next seven games, and he was rewarded with more targets down the stretch. This run continued into the playoffs as he pulled in five passes for 45 yards in the divisional playoffs before going off for six catches (including a TD) for 85 yards in the AFC Final.
After pretty much stealing the show against Buffalo, Worthy earned some serious praise from Head Coach Andy Reid.
Worthy, whose speed makes ex-Chief great Tyreek Hill seem like a sloth, has now accumulated 10 touchdowns in his rookie season. We’re expecting Worthy to be targeted even more in the Super Bowl; in fact, after A.J. Brown, there’s no WR we’d want on our Fantasy team more than Worthy in this game.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Scottish singer Lulu (Kennedy-Cairns) has been at since 1964. Early in her career, she recorded as Lulu and the Luvvers (her backing band), and under that brand they did a 1965 cover of the Rolling Stones’ song “Surprise, Surprise.” The tune made its way onto a superb 1988 various artists compilation album called The Sixties Explosion – Volume One 1961-1967.