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Fantasy Football Impact: Jonnu Smith traded to Steelers in deal with Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are trading veteran tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers, as reported on Monday morning. Smith, 29, was entering the final year of his contract and had been holding out hopes for a new deal with Miami. The Dolphins were unwilling to give that to him and now Smith will land in Pittsburgh, where he's reportedly expected to sign a one-year, $12 million extension.

Smith is coming off a career year with the Dolphins. Those numbers were good enough to vault Smith into a top-5 fantasy tight end finish in 2024. The receptions and yards were career highs while the TD total tied a career high set back in 2020 while Smith was with the Tennessee Titans.

Going into the 2025 season, Yahoo analysts had Smith as the TE7 in their consensus rankings. That sentiment will surely change after this news. Smith joins Pat Freiermuth on the tight end depth chart in Pittsburgh. The Steelers also brought in future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers for one season to lead the offense while also trading for WR DK Metcalf with the Seattle Seahawks. Pittsburgh shipped WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys and will have a very different look to the passing game this season.

Here's what Scott Pianowski has to say on Smith's fantasy outlook following his trade to the Steelers:

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"When something good happens in fantasy football, we root for continuity. Don't change a thing. Run it all back.

So no, Jonnu Smith managers, this is not your day.

Smith had a surprise career year out of nowhere last season; Miami turned him into a featured weapon. Smith absorbed 111 targets (his previous best was 70) and caught 88 passes (his previous high was 50), finishing as the TE4. The eight touchdown catches matched a career high (and he's had three or fewer in six different seasons). Mike McDaniel unlocked something with Smith.

Now Smith heads to the Steelers. Fantasy managers generally cringe when they think about Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith, but at least the two Smiths spent 2023 together in Atlanta — Jonnu Smith's second-busiest season (59-582-3, 70 targets). Pittsburgh doesn't have a solidified WR2 after DK Metcalf, so Smith ostensibly can act in a hybrid role. Obviously Pat Freiermuth is already in town as a more traditional tight end.

Smith wasn't a total washout when last running in the Arthur Smith scheme — sharing work with Kyle Pitts, of course — so maybe his fantasy value doesn't tank to zero. But changing teams this close to the season and landing with Aaron Rodgers in his age-42 season, these are not positives. I have Smith tumbling from TE7 to TE15 in my ranks, and I also bumped Freiermuth down a few spots (he's now TE20). Julian Hill, the presumptive new starting tight end in Miami, is still a longshot at best; call him TE34 for now.

I left my quarterback board alone for the moment; if I do eventually tweak Rodgers up or Tua Tagovailoa down, it will be a small move. Metcalf remains in place."

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