Fantasy Football: Does loss of Kenny Pickett hurt or help your Steelers stars?

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett went down during the team's 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and it is now being reported that the second-year player will have a procedure on his ankle on Monday that is expected to sideline him for at least two weeks and perhaps up to a month.

That is going to extend into the fantasy football playoffs. Whenever a team loses a starting QB at this juncture of the season, it's generally a terrible sign for the players on that team in terms of fantasy production.

But the Steelers have an experienced backup quarterback in Mitch Trubisky that will take over in Pickett's absence. This should not hurt your fantasy players on the Steelers and in fact, coudl give them a bit of a boost.

This applies almost exclusively to wide receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, two talented wide receivers who have had average seasons based on subpar quarterback play.

Pickens leads the team with 44 receptions for 748 yards on the season, but he has scored just three touchdowns. Johnson's numbers are even worse, as he has just 34 receptions and only two touchdowns. But one of those touchdowns came on Sunday with Trubisky at quarterback, playing in relief of Pickett.

Trubisky, who was once the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, has made 55 starts in his career. The Steelers, who are still well within the AFC playoff race, will have no trouble relying on the veteran, and neither should you.

Your fantasy football team is still going to need Pickens and Johnson in the fantasy football playoffs. I feel that both are still fine starts or flex plays each week and would probably have even more confidence in them with Trubisky than Pickett.

It is a wide belief that Pickett's inconsistent play has held back the talent of Pickens and Johnson in fantasy football and though inconsistency was the reason the Chicago Bears gave up on Trubisky, his experience should be able to give you a small uptick with each of these players for perhaps the rest of this fantasy season.