We all assumed that Aaron Rodgers would take his talents to Pittsburgh, and we eventually got there. He’s on the wrong side of 40 and has finished under 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in each of his past two healthy seasons, thresholds that were once layups for this fantasy football star.
Rodgers might make the Steelers a playoff team in 2025, but is there any reason to believe he is capable of doing the same for your fantasy team?
Should You Draft Aaron Rodgers in Fantasy?
This is an interesting case. We saw glimpses of vintage Rodgers down the stretch of a lost 2024 season, and that’s obviously encouraging as he enters a stable franchise that has been starved for capable quarterback play for a few years now.
“I’m not the president of the Aaron Rodgers fan club or anything, but damn, dude — the guy played his ass off!”
– @Mark_Sanchez praises Aaron Rodgers’ performance last season and likes the Steelers’ move for him. pic.twitter.com/iVAdfMHWd8
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 19, 2025
He was one of just eight QBs to reach double figures last season in terms of games with multiple touchdown passes and proved plenty comfortable with loading up a single receiver with work in the way that this Pittsburgh offense currently projects (Davante Adams had 68 targets in six games last winter).
There certainly is a path to mattering for Rodgers in deep fantasy leagues this season. Not in a “draft and hold” sort of way, but in a “read my weekly preview article and try to beat the market to him should his profile trend in a certain direction” sort of way.
MORE: Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
The Steelers play a very distinct brand of football, and it’s generally not great for QBs whose best days are behind them. That said, it’s unlikely that the grind your opponents into dust strategy will be employed down the stretch of this regular season (QBs faced from Weeks 13 to 16: Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Tua Tagovailoa, and Jared Goff in Detroit), leaving the door open for Rodgers to close 2025 like he did 2024 (250+ passing yards in three of his final four games, two of which saw him toss 3+ touchdowns).
But if we are dealing with probabilities and what is most likely to occur, I’m certainly in agreement with users on PFSN’s Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator in labeling him as an afterthought.
The deep passing numbers are trending away from him, something you’d expect for someone who will turn 42 years of age before this season wraps, but that’s not all.
The Rodgers you have in your mind’s eye is one making every throw imaginable inside the 20-yard line. It’s of the Packers putting all of their trust into his rare combination of decision-making and the ability to throw open windows.
Is that version of him still around?
Last season, he completed just 50.6% of his red zone attempts. Not only was that a significant dropoff from his three seasons prior (62.7%), it ranked 28th in the NFL, behind Pittsburgh’s last band-aid option in Russell Wilson (51.1%). That was in a situation with objectively more receiving talent than what the Steelers currently have access to, leading me to believe that the touchdown equity isn’t what we need to justify going this direction in any sort of standard format.
Mason LeBeau’s Aaron Rodgers Fantasy Projection
There isn’t really much reason to consider Aaron Rodgers for anything more than an occasional streamer. The real question is if he’s worth an add in Superflex leagues late in your draft. In 10- and 12-team leagues, there will be a scramble for a bench quarterback, and someone will ultimately have to pull the trigger.
My answer is still no. There isn’t a ton of upside to the Steelers’ offense right now. I’m not a huge fan of the WR DK Metcalf fit, and outside of him, it’s thin pickings at receiver.
The addition of TE Jonnu Smith is nice, but between him and TE Pat Freiermuth, I’d expect a heavy dose of run game in the Arthur Smith offense. Even if the passing game is fairly productive, relying on anyone outside of Metcalf for reliable output will be hard.
More importantly, the Steelers have a gauntlet of defenses to start the season: road games against the Jets and Patriots and home games against the Seahawks and Vikings in September before a week-five bye. Unless the Rodgers owner is faced with bad luck early on, there won’t be a good reason to start Rodgers in any of those matchups.
Even if you are a Rodgers truther in 2025, the move will be to wait. At the bye week after a poor start, make the move to sign him off waivers or trade at a low price. Coming out of the bye, the Steelers have a more favorable schedule against the Browns, Bengals, Packers, and Colts, with a Bengals rematch two weeks later. If there’s going to be life to this Rodgers experiment, it’ll likely come mid-season, in which you can promptly trade him away down the stretch before your deadlines if he’s recouped value.