Fantasy Football Profile: Ben Roethlisberger

Big Ben finds himself in the news for the wrong reasons. 

I’m not going to weigh in on his situation because I don’t have the information and don’t want to jump to conclusions.  Obviously his situation has a strong bearing on his fantasy value. 

If he is suspended or incarcerated he will obviously need to be re-evaluated.  If he were to miss some time due to suspension or otherwise, he would probably be ranked as a low-end fantasy starter at best.

He has some great weapons in Santonio Holmes—who I expect to blow up this year— and also has Hines Ward, and Heath Miller.  Limas Sweed is a decent breakout
candidate.  Big Ben showed in the Super Bowl that he can win a game if he needs to, but this team’s identity is still their defense and with Rashard Mendenhall healthy, along with Willie Parker, the Steelers will be more run-heavy in 2009.

The Steelers have a sweet schedule featuring Cleveland twice, Cincinnati twice, Detroit, Denver, and Kansas City. 

They do have to face Tennessee, San Diego, Minnesota and Baltimore twice so don’t expect Big Ben’s sack totals to drop drastically.  I like Pittsburgh’s first two match-ups (Cleveland and Green Bay) in the fantasy playoffs, but I hate that they have to face  Baltimore in the week that most leagues hold their fantasy championship.

If Ben’s situation hangs over his head this summer it will affect his draft position.  Right now he’ll probably be taken in the seventh to ninth round.  If he stays healthy and eligible I think he’ll have somewhere around 3,300 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Originally published at LestersLegends.com.