Every year, there are guys going near the end of fantasy football drafts that end up helping you win your league. All teams have sleepers, and it is our job as “fantasy football analysts” to identify these players and alert the community.
One of the most interesting teams for fantasy football this year is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have top notch wide receivers led by the trio of Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. They also have a potential star rookie running back in Najee Harris, and one of the better tight end duos in the league with Eric Ebron and Pat Freiermuth.
With all of these solid weapons around it leaves one option that most people are not talking about, which is their longtime quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. Commonly known by his nickname “Big Ben”, he has oozing potential this year and is going very late in drafts currently at an ADP of QB28 via Underdog.
The Good
Since 2013, Big Ben has been a QB1 (top-12) in PPG every single year for fantasy football, except in 2019 where he only played two games. Last year, he was the QB12 in PPG among all quarterback’s to start 12+ games. Excluding that 2019 season, that marks the 7th straight year he has been top-12 in PPG. That alone should make you want to draft Big Ben.
In 2020, he came off of a career threatening elbow surgery, played 15 games, and was the QB14 overall and the QB12 in PPG. The Steelers have also been top-2 in the NFL in pass attempts three of the last four years. The one year they did not you ask? Oh, well that was the year where Big Ben only played two games!
Let me trying putting this a different way. The last time Big Ben did not finish as a top-12 QB in FPPG, Barrack Obama just got elected for his second term in office as the commander and chief of the United States. The last time Ben did not finish top-12 in PPG, the first ever Avengers move came out; the last time Big Ben did not finish as a top-12 QB in PPG, Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit single “Call Me Maybe” finished as the 2nd best song on Billboard’s year-end hot 100 songs.
Ok, you get the point. Big Ben has been way better as a fantasy football asset than you realize. He also has a solid ‘Fab 5’ of weapons to throw to in Johnson, Claypool, Juju, Harris, and Ebron. He is getting older at age 39, but he was still a top-12 QB in fantasy PPG after coming off career threatening elbow surgery.
The Bad
Ben Roethlisberger is going to be 39 years old this year which is normally very bad for QB’s who do not eat avocado ice cream. He is coming off the lowest yards per pass attempt (6.3) of his entire 17-year career, and had his lowest passing yards per game since 2012 (and for what it’s worth, rushed for just 11 yards – which is once again the lowest total of his 17 year career_.
Did I not already mention he just had elbow surgery within the last two years and is at an age where most quarterback’s retire? I see why people are staying away from him, but does the good outweigh the bad?
Conclusion
Ben Roethlisberger is a big sleeper that could absolutely pay off this year. Regardless of his efficiency metrics, he still finished as a top-12 QB in FPPG for the 7th straight year (taking out his 2 game season in 2019). Going as QB28 in ADP, there is almost no chance he does not outperform that as long as he stays healthy – which is still a big if.
I’m willing to take the risk. He still has great offensive weapons and the same head coach who has helped guide him throughout his career. If you don’t draft a QB until the later rounds, don’t be afraid of the taking a flier on Big Ben to see if he still has it .
