3 Fantasy Football Player Outlooks and Projections - Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth (2025)

June 18, 2025

Joey's 2025 fantasy football player outlooks and projections for Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, and Pat Freiermuth. Read the expert fantasy football draft analysis and advice to know which veterans to target.

After months of speculating where quarterback Aaron Rodgers would wind up, we finally know where the future Hall of Famer will play in 2025. Rodgers recently signed a one-year, $13.65 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is now set to be the team's starting quarterback for the 2025-2026 season. 

In this article, we will look at the fantasy football impact of Rodgers signing with the Steelers this offseason. We will dive into what this means for the quarterback, new wide receiver DK Metcalf, and tight end Pat Freiermuth. 

Should fantasy managers target these three players in 2025 fantasy drafts? Let's dive in and analyze the fantasy football outlooks for Rodgers, Metcalf, and Freiermuth. 

Aaron Rodgers Fantasy Football Outlook

It has been quite an interesting few months for Rodgers, who contemplated retirement after the 2024-2025 season. However, the 41-year-old will play at least one more season. Pittsburgh will be the third team the veteran has played for in his career after spending 18 years with the Green Bay Packers and the last two years with the New York Jets.

🎯🎯🎯 @AaronRodgers12 pic.twitter.com/i6oSOlHgT9

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 11, 2025

It's hard not to see that Rodgers has lost a step over the past few years. He hasn't thrown for over 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns in his last two full seasons (2022 and 2024), which has certainly hurt his fantasy value a bit. The 10-time Pro Bowl finished outside the top 12 at the quarterback position in both of those campaigns. 

Last season, Rodgers finished as the QB15 while averaging 15.7 fantasy points per game. While that QB15 finish was the worst of his career (when he plays at least 15 games), he still provided some QB1 weeks for fantasy managers. He had six top-12 fantasy quarterback finishes, including in three of the final five weeks of the regular season. So, it wasn't all bad for him in 2024.

However, it's fair to assume that he won't finish as a QB1 option this year. He hasn't finished as a top-12 fantasy quarterback since 2021, and his lack of rushing gives him a lower fantasy ceiling than most. Rodgers has rushed for under 200 yards in five straight seasons. 

The new Steelers quarterback, though, can be a QB2 option in Superflex formats this year. He finished as a top-20 quarterback in 11 of 17 games last year, and this landing spot in Pittsburgh could help Rodgers finish as a top-18 fantasy quarterback. 

He will have a star wide receiver on the outside in Metcalf, and this Steelers offensive line is a bit better than the Jets' offensive line he was behind in 2024. Pittsburgh ranked 13th in pass block win rate (62%) last year compared to New York's 57% pass block win rate. Rodgers is also still one of the best deep-ball passers in the league. 

Rodgers ranked fourth in deep ball accuracy rating (5.9) and 10th in deep ball completion percentage (39.3%) among all quarterbacks in 2024. That should continue to work well for him, especially since Metcalf is one of the best deep-threat options in the NFL. As a result, the veteran will be a low-end QB2 option to start the 2025 season. 

DK Metcalf Fantasy Football Outlook

After spending his first six years with the Seattle Seahawks, Metcalf was traded to the Steelers this offseason. The 6-foot-4 playmaker was set to join George Pickens to form an electric wide receiver duo in Pittsburgh. Then, the team traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys a few months later. 

With Pickens being traded, Metcalf's fantasy value in 2025 will actually improve. He should be the clear WR1 in this Steelers offense and won't have to compete for targets with any other wideout. Pittsburgh will enter the season with Calvin Austin III as their WR2 and Roman Wilson as their WR3. 

Therefore, it wouldn't be shocking if Metcalf maintained a high target share throughout the year. In all three seasons that the wideout has finished with over a 24% target share in his career (2020, 2021, and 2022), he finished as a top-16 fantasy wideout in PPR formats every time. That means he has every opportunity to be a strong WR2 option in 2025. 

While there were some uncertainties with Metcalf due to the team's potential quarterback options, the signing of Rodgers puts all those uncertainties to rest. The veteran quarterback will pepper the two-time Pro Bowler with plenty of targets in Pittsburgh's offense, similar to how Rodgers fed Garrett Wilson before Davante Adams arrived last season. 

Rodgers is also the perfect quarterback for Metcalf. The former Seahawks wideout is one of the best deep ball catchers and man coverage beaters in the NFL. He saw the most deep targets (33) last year while ranking fifth in win rate versus man coverage (42.5%). Those are two areas in which Rodgers thrives, as his deep ball accuracy rating and completion percentage versus man coverage (57.4%) both ranked top-10 in 2024. 

How does Aaron Rodgers’ skillset fit DK Metcalf’s game?

“How quickly he releases the ball and me getting off the line of scrimmage fast is one thing that stands out first.”

Expect a lot of quick slants in the Steelers’ passing game this year. pic.twitter.com/1UKpyqtOXQ

— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) June 11, 2025

As a result, Metcalf has the potential to be a strong WR2 option during the 2025-2026 season. He has a future Hall of Fame quarterback throwing passes to him and doesn't face much competition for targets. That makes him a solid pick in the fourth or fifth round of fantasy drafts this summer. 

Pat Freiermuth Fantasy Football Outlook

6/30 UPDATE: The Steelers traded for Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith, which greatly reduces Freiermuth's ceiling and floor. Freiermuth now carries a low-end TE2 outlook with Smith's arrival.

There's no doubt that Freiermuth's 2024 fantasy campaign went a little bit under the radar. He finished as the overall TE9 on the season and averaged 9.9 PPR fantasy points per game. The Steelers' playmaker was also a strong tight end option down the stretch, averaging 11.8 PPR fantasy points per game over the final nine weeks of the season.

Even after finishing as a top-10 tight end for the second time in three years, Freiermuth finds himself going outside the top-17 at the position in drafts. He's going later than both rookie tight ends (Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland), which makes the 26-year-old a potential value pick in the later rounds.

‘He was a 4-time MVP for a reason’#Steelers Pat Freiermuth on Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/mM5x31WdFK

— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) June 10, 2025

Freiermuth might not be the sexiest pick in drafts, but he will be a high-floor option for fantasy managers. He has totaled over 650 yards in two of the past three seasons and has a great chance to see 80-plus targets this year. The last time the tight end finished with at least a 19% target share (2022), he ended as the TE8 in PPR formats. 

Finishing with a 19% target share is certainly a possibility for the Steelers' tight end in 2025. Freiermuth could emerge as the second option in this Pittsburgh offense, and Rodgers targeted Tyler Conklin 72 times last year in that Jets offense. That also came with Conklin competing for opportunities with Wilson and Adams. 

So, Freiermuth has a great opportunity to finish as a TE1 again this season. Rodgers threw the ball 584 times last year, and even if that number comes down a bit, the young tight end could see five to six targets per game. That makes him a nice pick in the later rounds. He's on an offense that doesn't have many receiving options while having a Hall of Fame quarterback throwing passes to him.

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