This is the eighth of 32 Ceilings and Floors, covering each NFL team’s QB’s, RB’s, WR’s, and TE’s. We finish up the AFC North, with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In case you missed it, here is the breakdown for the Cleveland Browns. (Depth Charts courtesy of footballguys.com)

Ceilings and Floors: Quarterback

QB1: Ben Roethlisberger

CEILING: Roethlisberger returns from his nearly year-long absence and is better than ever, throwing for 5,000 yards to go along with 35 TDs.

FLOOR: Big Ben is no longer the same, and we witness the end of a long and fruitful career as the year progresses. 22 TDs and 3,400 yards. The Steelers draft a QB in 2021.

PREDICTION: I expect Big Ben to be close to his normal self, and 30 TDs and 4,200 yards seem well within range.

QB2: Mason Rudolph

CEILING: We saw it last year when Ben went down, and it wasn’t pretty. Ben goes down and Rudolph throws for 6 TDs and 1,000 yards before being benched, for a duck.

FLOOR: A duck moves past him on the depth chart during preseason, and we never see him play again.

PREDICTION: He is not very good, my prediction is no playing time unless disaster strikes Pittsburgh. If he plays much, they have a good shot at Trevor Lawrence.

QB3: Devlin Hodges, QB4: Paxton Lynch

CEILING: Hodges proved, well, not much last year, and Lynch has proven even less. Even if either somehow manages to stumble his way onto the field, they won’t be doing much once there.

FLOOR: Remember what it looked like when they last played? Their floor goes lower than that. Neither play in 2020, or ever.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh drafts a QB in next year’s draft.

Ceilings and Floors: Running Back

RB1: James Conner

CEILING: Conner stays healthy, and looks like the guy he was in 2018. He scores 13 times and adds 1,200 total yards.

FLOOR: Conner’s 2018 year was a fluke, he can’t stay healthy, and he finishes the year with 700 total yards and 6 TDs.

PREDICTION: Conner has a better year with Ben coming back, scoring 9 TDs, and accounting for 1,000 total yards.

RB2: Jaylen Samuels

CEILING: Bell can’t stay healthy, and Samuels is the main benefactor. 8 TDs and 900 yards.

FLOOR: Samuels moves down the depth chart, becoming an afterthought.

PREDICTION: Samuels definitely disappointed when Conner was out last year. I don’t believe he holds the RB2 spot all year.

RB3: Benny Snell Jr.

CEILING: Snell emerges as RB2, and Conner goes down. He finishes with 6 TDS and 900 yards.

FLOOR: He never plays an offensive snap, contributing to the team with Special Teams play.

PREDICTION: Snell looked like a decent backup option only in his limited run last year. I don’t believe he has realistic value without injuries happening to guys ahead of him.

RB4: Anthony McFarland Jr.

CEILING: McFarland wins the RB2 spot, and Conner goes down, letting McFarland produce 7 TDs along with 1,000 scrimmage yards.

FLOOR: He can’t move up the depth chart and never plays. He just doesn’t adjust to the NFL game.

PREDICTION: McFarland has some upside, due to his limited touches and high yards per touch in college. I like him in dynasty as a Conner handcuff and do expect him to push for RB2 status in camp.

RB5: Kerrith Whyte Jr., RB6: Trey Edmunds

CEILING: JuJu gives them a Gatorade shower after they finally beat him and Ben in a game of Madden.

FLOOR: They never beat JuJu or Ben in Madden ’21.

PREDICTION: The only stats they acquire will be via a new Xbox.

Ceilings and Floors: Wide Receiver

WR1: JuJu Smith-Schuster

CEILING: JuJu proves 2019 was more about who was throwing him the ball than some downward trend, and he wins Comeback Player Of The Year, reuniting with Big Ben to score 11 TDs and have 1,600 yards receiving, redirecting his career trajectory back to the elite.

FLOOR: JuJu lucked out with Antonio Brown drawing all the attention before last year, and can’t handle WR1 responsibilities. He only has 4 TDs and 600 yards receiving, forcing Pittsburgh to wonder if he can get back on track.

PREDICTION: JuJu had nobody throwing him good balls last year. I see a nice year heading his way with Ben returning to the fold. 9 TDs, 1,500 yards.

WR2: Diontae Johnson

CEILING: Diontae Johnson continues developing, and emerges as a threat to become Pittsburgh’s WR1. 8 TDS and 1,200 yards.

FLOOR: Johnson doesn’t click with Ben, and replicates his 2019 totals of 5 TDs and 680 yards.

PREDICTION: It’s a pretty safe bet Johnson improves in year two. 6 TDs and 850 yards. His dynasty value will probably be higher next year.

WR3: James Washington

CEILING: Washington emerges as a real weapon as the third WR, catching 6 TDs to go along with 800 yards.

FLOOR: He is overtaken by Chase Claypool and is relegated to 2 TDs for 280 yards.

PREDICTION: I think Claypool has a real shot to eat into the few touches Washington was getting before they acquired Claypool. 3 TDs and 350 yards, with his future value in Pittsburgh being limited by the talent around him.

WR4: Chase Claypool

CEILING: Claypool forces Pittsburgh to utilize his combination of size and speed, Ben looks his way often in the Red Zone, and Claypool rewards fantasy owners everywhere with 8 TDs and 700 yards receiving.

FLOOR: Claypool stays at WR4, contributing in small bursts only, and we wait another year to see if his TD upside is unlocked once the runway is clear for him to take off.

PREDICTION: Claypool cracks the top three WR ranks for the Steelers, and scores 5 TDs along with 500 yards receiving.

WR5: Ryan Switzer, WR6: Deon Cain, WR7: Amara Darboh, WR8: Quadree Henderson, WR9: Saeed Blacknall

CEILING: The only ceiling these players have is making the team and contributing on Special Teams.

FLOOR: Mike Tomlin tricks one of these guys into tripping opponents running down the sidelines, but unlike with Tomlin, it costs them their job.

PREDICTION: If Tomlin wanted to keep on tripping, he could do so five times, with these five guys, and if they win the Super Bowl because of it, they get a ring right?

Ceilings and Floors: Tight End

TE1: Eric Ebron

CEILING: Ebron repeats his dynamite fantasy season of 2018, recording 13 TDs and 750 yards reeiving.

FLOOR: Ebron isn’t that good, and finishes the 2020 season with 3 TDs and 375 yards, just like he finished the 2019 season.

PREDICTION: Ebron is an upgrade at TE for The Steelers, and he produces a 7 TD 600 yard season.

TE2: Vance McDonald

CEILING: Ebron goes down or doesn’t deliver, and McDonald posts 610 yards and 4 TDs, which would both tie career highs for the veteran in his eighth year.

FLOOR: McDonald has minimal offensive impact, scoring 1 TD to go along with 300 yards.

PREDICTION: McDonald has yet to show me any ceiling to be excited about, and I believe his relevance in fantasy football never really happened.

TE3: Zach Gentry

CEILING: Let’s just say he is lucky, and he scores 1 TD to go along with 123 yards.

FLOOR: He had 1 target for 1 catch and 4 yards in 2019. This my friends, is what you call a very low floor.

PREDICTION: Too many mouths to feed in Pittsburgh, and Gentry starves to death.

Enjoy this article? Follow me on Twitter to get updates when new content is released @realryanhicks, including the rest of my Ceilings and Floors. Up next is the AFC North and the Houston Texans. Also, check out what else Belly Up Fantasy is cooking up, and follow  @BellyUpFantasy for all your Fantasy Sports needs.