Aaron Rodgers' Farewell Tour Has Fantasy Upside — Here's the Steelers Read
Rodgers threw for 3,322 yards and 24 TDs in 2025 and enters his age-42 finale with a real supporting cast. But QB19 is QB19.
Streamer/QB2 upside in a better offense, but no every-week ceiling yet.
- Rodgers: 3,322 yds, 24 TD, 7 INT in 2025 (16 games)
- Our rank: QB19, #42 overall, 227 PPR pts in 2025
- Form: +1.6 FPTS/G over his last 5 games in 2025
- New weapons: Pittman, Rico Dowdle, rookie Germie Bernard
- Metcalf logged 59-850-6 in 2025 as the clear WR1
Aaron Rodgers has told anyone who'll listen that 2026 is it — the last ride, no ambiguity. He arrives at his age-42 season off a 2025 line of 3,322 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and just 7 picks across 16 games, which landed him at 227 PPR points and QB19 in our rankings. Not a wagon. Not a corpse either.
The interesting wrinkle for fantasy is what's around him now. Pittsburgh finally addressed the pass-catching room this offseason, adding Michael Pittman and rookie Germie Bernard, importing running back Rico Dowdle from Dallas as a passing-game piece, and returning DK Metcalf as the unquestioned WR1. Dowdle told teammates he's the best quarterback he's shared a field with — high praise from a guy who caught passes from Dak Prescott, who posted 330 PPR points last year at QB6.
Why the Ceiling Is Higher Than the Rank
Rodgers' late-2025 form actually trended up — he averaged 1.6 more fantasy points per game over his final five outings than his season mark. Pair that with an upgraded receiving corps and a run game that can carry snaps, and the volume math gets friendlier. Jaylen Warren (958 rush yards, 217 PPR points in 2026's rearview) said his personal goal is to finally clear 1,000, and he expects Dowdle to hit it too. A functional ground game keeps Rodgers in manageable down-and-distance, which is where his touch and processing still shine.
The Catch
Here's the sober part: a good real-life season and a startable fantasy quarterback aren't the same thing. Rodgers is a low-volume, low-rushing profile — 61 rushing yards all of 2025 — and in a league where mobile QBs vacuum up bonus points, that caps his weekly ceiling. QB19 is where our model has him, and nothing about a run-first offense with a spread-out target tree screams league-winner under center.
The trickle-down matters more than the man himself. Metcalf (WR25 in our ranks, 187 PPR points in 2025) is the guy who benefits most from Rodgers' arm, and Warren's dual-threat role holds real RB2 juice if the Steelers lean run. Dowdle is the sneaky watch — a passing-down back with a QB who trusts him could carry standalone value.
Fantasy bottom line: don't reach for Rodgers on draft day. Let him fall as a QB2 or a matchup streamer and see whether the upgraded weapons translate to points before you commit. The value here is downstream — Metcalf and Warren are the actionable pieces. Rodgers himself is a watch-and-see with a real shot to exceed QB19 if the offense clicks early.
