ADF Player Spotlight – Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger – Quarterback #7

Pittsburgh Steelers

Height: 6-5   Weight: 240   Age: 37

Born: 3/2/1982 Lima, OH

College: Miami (Ohio)

Experience: 16th season

High School: Findlay HS [OH]

The Past

It can be difficult to believe in a player that is entering his 16^th NFL season at the ripe age of 37-years old. And while we understand that quarterbacks have grown to have a greater shelf life in the league than any other position, the fabric of 2019 for the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger does possess a good level of optimism to go along with skepticism.

The fundamental conversation concerning Roethlisberger over his tenure continues to be whether he is an elite level passer worthy of high regard. Based solely on statistical achievement, Roethlisberger has become the epitome of consistency over the last six years. Always hovering around the 4000+ yard mark while throwing nothing less than 25+ touchdown passes, it is incredible that Roethlisberger doesn’t receive enhanced appreciation. Granted, most of this statistical prowess comes with the assistance of top-end talent which has supported the offensive system.

For years now having players like LeVeon Bell and Antonio Brown surely has lifted the overall output to levels we’ve grown accustomed to. However, as the league continues to transform into a passing dominated situation, Roethlisberger showed strides in 2018 to amass levels of career highs never seen before. Having thrown nearly 700 passes (675), he completed a whopping 452 of them to the tune of 5129 yards and 34 touchdowns; Roethlisberger was absolutely fantastic last season.

Although it’s clear that the Steelers have had their share of tribulation within the locker room, they continue to promote the “next man up mantra” to not miss a beat. While Roethlisberger is on the outside looking in with father time no longer on his side, the upcoming campaign should tell a giant story of what should become his lasting legacy.

     

The Future

Entering the 2019 offseason much has transpired on what type of roster the Steelers will house now that two super stars have left the building. Both LeVeon Bell and Antonio Brown voiced their displeasure with team dynamics and contract stipulations forcing the hand of upper management to make moves. With Bell finding his way to the New York Jets via free agency and Brown jumping ship to the Oakland Raiders via trade, this new look Pittsburgh offense will have a lot to prove in 2019.

Before we criticize how any team could possibly remove two generational talents in the same offseason, we must turn to fact before opinion. Historically Pittsburgh has been known to be masters in development of talent that others believed to be minuscule. Always having that sound pedigree to find receivers and running backs in the later rounds of NFL drafts, we could again see that come to fruition after all is said and done for 2019. With James Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster now the lead anchors for this offense, it will be incumbent on Roethlisberger to again find that chemistry and exploit the opposition.

While we do have some reservation on if Smith-Schuster will be able to elevate his game to the next level in becoming that true number one receiver, the prospects do look sound. Antonio Brown did a number of things for this group in drawing greater coverage to his side, which opened up lanes for his teammates. Now with that aspect removed, we wouldn’t be shocked to witness a multi-back system approach become the normality, while creating those mismatches in the pass game to be reliant on the play-action pass. With that said, Roethlisberger has seen many different systems and schemes in his 16-year career, but this could become the most challenging.   

The Outlook & Fantasy Impact

It’s been many years since we have discussed the Steelers in an uneven light, as the constants have been top notch producers for quite some time. Now that the entire fabric has changed, Ben Roethlisberger does have the weight of this team squarely on his shoulders to prove he is the catalyst to promote this productivity.

Seeing more respect than in previous seasons, Roethlisberger currently sits with an average draft position hovering around the mid eighth round. Subsequently being ranked as the 13^th best passer for the upcoming season, his placement again suggests he’s not valued as high as most would perceive. While we could ascertain dropping Roethlisberger even further down the ranks based on the increased level of uncertainty on this offense, we have become torn in how to appropriately assign value.

Though most have high grades on teammates James Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster, the notion that Roethlisberger will again be the league’s leading passer is again the afterthought. Regression is almost inevitable in our eyes without Brown on this roster. There are more than 160 targets now up for grabs without Brown and finding that key secondary contributor will be a large task.

If your fantasy draft strategy rests in rounding out your roster with running backs and wide receivers first, to only wait on a quarterback, Roethlisberger should again provide enough for that approach. However we must inform that the potential for much less production is the higher risk over where he can be selected this season.

Seeing final levels reach 4100-4300 passing yards and 25-27 touchdowns in 2019 should again be the standard. Finding ways back to over 5000 yards will be extremely difficult in our eyes. If Roethlisberger and the Steelers can once again recreate a superb offensive attack, I don’t think we can ever again question how good Roethlisberger truly is.