Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown might be the safest play in all of fantasy football. Will the injuries and suspensions in the Steelers offense hurt Brown's bottom line? Don't count on it.
Antonio Brown
ESPN fantasy projection: 192 targets, 132 receptions, 1,741 yards, 10 touchdowns
Over or under: Over in receptions and touchdowns, under in yards. In the 12 games they played together last season, Brown and Ben Roethlisberger averaged nearly 10 connections per game, or 160 over a full season. That's insane. And that's why Brown should be expected to catch at least 130 balls this season, especially with all the absences in the Steelers offense. Big Ben and Brown run plays that simply can't be guarded. But Brown would need dozens of chunk plays to pass 1,700 yards, which could happen but is less of a guarantee. Netting 200 targets also isn't out of the question for Brown, and many of those targets will result in touchdown opportunities. Brown went for 136 catches, 1,834 yards and 10 TDs last season despite playing four games with Landry Jones and facing several top-shelf cornerbacks. He could have an easier path in 2016.
ESPN fantasy projection: 87 targets, 51 catches, 688 yards, four touchdowns
Over or under: Over in all categories. Wheaton is listed as a starter and can return to his more natural position of outside receiver if Eli Rogers continues to emerge in the slot. Wheaton put up nearly identical numbers last season despite the presence of Martavis Bryant and with Roethlisberger missing four games. This is a reasonable fantasy projection for Wheaton, who must fend off Sammie Coates and Darrius Heyward-Bey for reps but will enter the season as the Steelers' No. 2 receiver.
Who else could see time?: Coates runs primarily with the second team, but he holds the highest ceiling among all Steelers receivers not named Brown. If Coates holds onto the ball, he's dangerous. Heyward-Bey complicates the Steelers' wideout picture because he won't be a big fantasy player week to week but will take targets away from younger players because Roethlisberger trusts him. Rogers has been a training camp revelation in the slot, but he's never played an NFL game. He's still a big question mark.
