Pittsburgh Steelers DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren left his team's Saturday preseason game against the Buffalo Bills with a hamstring injury. Warren gained one yard on his lone carry and added two catches for 14 yards before departing during the second quarter with the team calling him doubtful to return. Seeing as this is a preseason game, Warren's night is most likely over. Fortunately, the veteran running back has several weeks to get healthy before the Steelers' Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Warren has been expected to team with Najee Harris to form a one-two punch in the Pittsburgh backfield this season. If Warren's injury were to stretch into the regular season, look for Harris to operate as the team's bell-cow with a sprinkling of Cordarrelle Patterson mixed in. Stay tuned.

Indianapolis Colts running back Evan Hull has seen extensive work with the second-team offense during joint practices with the Arizona Cardinals. Trey Sermon (hamstring) had previously cemented himself as the Colts' second-string RB, but that was before he left Sunday's game against Denver early after injuring his hamstring. As of Wednesday, head coach Shane Steichen had no timetable for Sermon's return. In his wake, Hull has taken the role and ran with it. If Sermon were to miss extended time, Hull would be on fantasy manager's radars as the preferred handcuff to back up Jonathan Taylor. Whoever emerges as the handcuff to own would not hold stand-alone value, though they would be a critical fantasy asset if Taylor missed any time. For now, we'll take the wait-and-see approach regarding Indianapolis' backup to own in fantasy drafts.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (calf) will be under center during Saturday's preseason matchup against the Buffalo Bills. Head coach Mike Tomlin said Wilson will participate in the game as long as he doesn't suffer a setback. The veteran signal-caller has been dealing with a lingering calf issue in camp. Fantasy managers shouldn't worry as the Steelers have been extremely cautious with Wilson. The injury doesn't seem to be significant, so expect Wilson to be out there for four or so series on Saturday. Justin Fields figures to follow Wilson once he departs from the game.

As things currently stand in training camp, The Athletic's Daniel Popper lists Los Angeles Chargers tight ends Will Dissly, Hayden Hurst and Stone Smartt as the three TEs he thinks will make the final roster. Donald Parham Jr. and Ben Mason have missed significant practice time with injuries, and when Parham has been on the field, he has been working with the second and third teams. His blocking also remains a weakness. Zach Heins and Luke Benson have flashed at times, but they don't seem deserving of a roster spot over one of the other team's receivers. Smartt has improved as a blocker, which is why Popper thinks he'll earn a 53-man roster spot for a run-heavy Greg Roman offense this year. Parham's fantasy value in dynasty/keeper leagues is quickly evaporating, even though he set career-highs in catches (27), yards (285) and touchdowns (four) in 2023.

Indianapolis Colts running back Evan Hull carried the ball eight times for 16 yards and a touchdown in the team's loss to the Denver Broncos. Hull also reeled in his only target for an additional 15 yards through the air. Hull led all of Indy's running backs in touches, seeing one more carry than Tyler Goodson. Hull is currently listed as the RB4 on the team's depth chart, and with an injury to Trey Sermon, he will try to climb further up the depth chart to potentially land the RB2 role in the offense. Unless he finds himself in the mix for the RB2 role behind Jonathan Taylor, Hull will be off the fantasy radar in 2024.