Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers, 42, is Pittsburgh's starting quarterback and is playing his best football of the season, but the market still treats him as a middling QB rather than a reliable weekly option.
Role
He is the Steelers' starter under new head coach Mike McCarthy, who coached him for 13 seasons in Green Bay (CBS Sports preseason piece). FantasyPros says he has thrown three touchdown passes in each of his last two games before Sunday, and the wire has three more against the Colts. FantasyData has him throwing 40 passes in Week 1 and 34 in Week 3. FantasyPros' expert note, from two days ago, has his air yards per attempt at 8.7 through four games, up from 6.0 last season. I found no current snap share, because he is the starting QB. A preseason NBC Sports preview listed Will Howard, rookie Drew Allar and Mason Rudolph as the backups. I did not confirm the current depth chart. His rushing is negligible: one carry for six yards on Sunday, and 61 rushing yards on the season last year per CBS. The main receivers named in preseason coverage are DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr. and rookie Germie Bernard.
The McCarthy reunion is working. FantasyPros calls him "on a heater" after back-to-back games of 290 or more yards and three touchdowns. His 299 yards against the Browns in Week 4 were his most since Week 14 of 2024. His throws are traveling farther than last year, and CBS noted that McCarthy-coached offenses kept Rodgers at 21.5 or more fantasy points per game in every season they shared in Green Bay. He then added three more touchdowns against the Colts in a 34-22 win.
The sample is small and he is 42. FantasyData's page also describes a loss to the Patriots in which he threw for 187 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, and was sacked four times. It said he could stay on the waiver wire at that point. He had only six games above 20 fantasy points in 17 games last year (CBS). Preseason analysts called him a desperation play or low-end QB2 (CBS, NBC Sports). FantasyPros still projected him at 16.3 points for Week 5 with a consensus rank of QB20. He is also expected to retire after this season, per FantasyData.
Where analysts split
Whether the deeper, higher-volume passing in recent weeks is the new normal under McCarthy or a short hot streak against a few matchups. Preseason sources said an aging, risk-averse Rodgers would have a low ceiling. The recent games contradict that, but the consensus ranking has not moved much.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at QB
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