Fantasy Upside
Ben Roethlisberger is coming off a season in which he quietly threw for 4,261 yards and 28 touchdowns, both of which were the second-highest marks of his career. He had five 300-yard games and two in which he topped 400 yards, while also throwing at least one touchdown pass in all 16 contests.
Fantasy Downside
While Roethlisberger played in all 16 games last season, it marked just the second time in his career he’s done so. He usually doesn’t miss a bunch of games, just one or two here or there. Also, both Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery left in the offseason. Those two caught 16 of Roethlisberger’s 28 TD passes in 2013.
Bottom Line
Roethlisberger has traditionally been pretty undervalued in fantasy football. Since 2009, he’s averaged 250 yards passing or better, in every season, while also reaching 26 or more touchdown passes in three of those five years. We could be seeing a trend with him taking every snap for the Steelers in 2013 as well. While he was sacked 42 times in 2013, that number was just 11 in the second half of the season as he bought into offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s short passing game, getting the ball out quickly. Somebody needs to step up to replace Sanders and Cotchery, but when you see Roethlisberger getting drafted in the 11th-13th rounds in most drafts, he’s a bargain as a low-end starter or quality backup.
