Another month, another trade involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. Believe it or not, this is the third trade this offseason that features the Steelers and an offensive player. Then, a day after, the Dolphins decided to make another trade to grab a tight end out of retirement. With the tight end landscape undergoing multiple changes in the past two days, what does that mean for fantasy football managers? Let’s find out!
Trade Details:
- The Steelers received Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith and a 2027 seventh-round pick from the Dolphins
- The Dolphins received Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the Steelers; Darren Waller and a 2027 seventh-round pick from the Giants
- The Giants received a 2026 sixth-round pick
The Fantasy Football Impact of the Jonnu Smith & Darren Waller Trades
Jonnu Smith Impact
I feel really bad for Jonnu Smith, I genuinely do. It took his eighth year and fourth different team for him to have a breakout season, which he achieved in Miami last year. He reached personal bests in targets (111), receptions (88) and receiving yards (884). He even tied his personal best in receiving touchdowns with eight! He even finished as TE4 in points per reception (PPR) scoring, when he never finished better than TE16 in his previous seasons. There was so much excitement coming into this season for him!
Then, the rumor came out that the Pittsburgh Steelers were looking to trade for him and reunite him with Arthur Smith. I’m pretty sure we all collectively shuddered, but on June 30, 2025, it happened. This trade certainly negatively impacts Jonnu Smith; he goes from someone who was likely to be a Top 10 tight end this season to a Top 20.
This stat says it all. In the three seasons that Arthur Smith has been with Jonnu Smith, he’s finished as a Top 20 tight end; the issue is that he also hasn’t finished higher than TE16 in those seasons. In those three seasons, Smith averaged 42 receptions, 489.6 receiving yards, 4.6 touchdowns and 123 PPR fantasy points. If we plugged in those 123 fantasy points into the 2024 NFL Season, he would finish TE17. You’re going to be looking for those rare upside weeks rather than a season-long play with the Smith reunion on the Steelers.
Pittsburgh Steelers Impact
I felt more confident with the Steelers two months ago, when they had Mason Rudolph starting with D.K. Metcalf, George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth. Now, it’s all changed with the signing of Aaron Rodgers, trading Pickens away to Dallas and trading for Jonnu Smith.
Unfortunately for Pat Freiermuth, he becomes the player most heavily impacted by this trade. In two of the last three seasons, Freiermuth was putting up Top 10 tight end numbers, finishing as TE7 in 2022 and TE9 in 2024. But when you add another tight end into the mix, I just don’t see those Top 10 numbers happening again. Luckily, for us, we have numbers that kind of prove it to us.
While I do think Pat Freiermuth is better than Kyle Pitts, we can use the 2023 numbers with Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith to give us a clearer picture of what to expect from Freiermuth. In 2023, the TE1 in Pitts had better stats, but the numbers show us how close it was. Pitts had 20 more targets, three more receptions and 85 more receiving yards. They both had three touchdowns and none of them finished higher than TE13. I think Freiermuth will be the better fantasy option but I do see a world where Jonnu Smith can also be the TE1 for the Steelers.
Somehow, the Steelers left me dumbfounded for two straight trades. Just stop trying to adjust your roster and somehow making it worse than it was. With that being said, there are only three offensive players on the Steelers to target in your drafts for 10-team leagues: D.K. Metcalf, Kaleb Johnson and Jaylen Warren. Regarding the tight ends? I’m not drafting either of them as a starting tight end. Freiermuth is someone who could come into play in deeper leagues but I wouldn’t rely on him as my starter.
Darren Waller Impact
Before the Dolphins traded for Darren Waller, there was nobody on the roster who had more than 35 receptions, 210 receiving yards or four touchdowns in a season. So, the trade made sense. It’s just not the player that I had imagined it would be, probably because I didn’t think Waller would return after “hating football” and having a rap career.
Unless he finds a way to revert to his 2019 and 2020 performance level, when he had a Pro Bowl season and accumulated 1,100+ receiving yards, I wouldn’t place him on my roster. While I’m glad he’s back and playing football, he’s definitely lost a step, and injuries haven’t helped either. In his last two seasons before retiring, Waller was TE12 in fantasy points per game (PPG) in PPR scoring, averaging around 9.4 fantasy PPG. By that metric, we used to see him regularly in the top ten, if not the top five! Waller was averaging under 4.5 receptions per game and 46 receiving yards per game in those last two seasons; when in his prime on the Raiders, he was averaging five-plus receptions and 60.5 yards per game.
I understand the upside and name recognition of Waller as the new starting tight end and I expect to see a lot of the targets, because someone has to take the 111 targets that Jonnu Smith left. But I don’t like that being left for someone who un-retired right before training camp, not knowing how ready he was in the offseason. I’d leave him on the waivers; no need to chase after him.
Miami Dolphins Impact
Two players really stick out as big winners in these trades and the first one is De’Von Achane. Last season, the two players who were league-winners when Tua Tagovailoa returned were Achane and Jonnu Smith, so when you trade one, the other becomes a better option. Achane didn’t get it done on the ground last season, finishing with the 20th most rushing yards for a running back with 907. The complete opposite can be said receiving-wise. Achane had the most receptions (78), most receiving yards (592) and tied for the most receiving touchdowns as a running back last season with six. I’d expect him to see the same amount of receptions, if not even more, but he needs to get the rushing yards!
The second big winner is Jaylen Waddle. Last year was the first time in his career when he averaged fewer than 14 PPR fantasy points per game and had personal season lows in every receiving category. In fact, he only averaged 9.4 PPR fantasy points per game, which is just bad. In his first three seasons, Waddle had 100+ targets, 72+ receptions and 1,000+ receiving yards with four-plus touchdowns, and all without Jonnu Smith and a year without Tyreek Hill.
Now let’s look back at that 2023 season for a moment. Jaylen Waddle actually played one game fewer than he did in the 2024 season and still finished as WR34. His 14.2 PPR fantasy points per game put him tied at 21st for wide receivers in that category, and that was playing alongside Tyreek Hill. Simply put, Waddle is likely to waddle his way back into the numbers we saw in the 2023 season, making me feel more comfortable about drafting him than I was before. I don’t see Darren Waller getting triple-digit targets, so Jaylen Waddle should become third in the receiving order behind Tyreek Hill and De’Von Achane.
Check out all of our articles on the Fantasy Football Impacts of 2025 NFL Free Agency & Trades:
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- The Fantasy Football Impact of George Pickens Traded to the Cowboys
- NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners & Losers (Day 3)
- NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners & Losers (Day 2)
- NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners & Losers (Day 1)
- The Fantasy Football Impact of D.K. Metcalf Traded to the Steelers
- The Fantasy Football Impact of Geno Smith Traded to the Raiders
- The Fantasy Football Impact of Christian Kirk Traded to the Texans
- The Fantasy Football Impact of Deebo Samuel Traded to the Commanders
Thanks for reading “The Fantasy Football Impact of Jonnu Smith and Darren Waller Trades” If you’re looking for more fantasy content like this or need help with the last-minute fantasy football start/sit decisions for your roster, you can find me on Facebook at “Fantasy Sports Start or Sit’Em Questions,” Twitter/X @FSSOSEQ or on BlueSky!
*Photo Credit: Jim Rassol — USA TODAY Sports*
