Mason Rudolph, Juju Smith-Schuster Fantasy Outlook After Roethlisberger's Injury

Fantasy football players who have Pittsburgh Steelers skill-position players on their roster received a tough bit of news Monday.

The Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin announced that veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be out for the season with an elbow injury. That means Mason Rudolph will step into the starting quarterback role, and it also means the team's receivers—most notably JuJu Smith-Schuster—will take a hit to their fantasy value.

But let's start with Rudolph. Should fantasy players add him on waivers this week?

Well, if you were already rolling with Roethlisberger as your starter, having Rudolph on your team would make sense. Chances are he's a better option than the other quarterbacks still available. 

But Rudolph also showed flashes in relief duty on Sunday. The second-year quarterback finished 12-of-19 with 112 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Steelers still lost against the Seattle Seahawks, 28-26, but Rudolph gave them a fighting shot. 

His teammates, at least, have confidence in him.

"We like our chances," guard David DeCastro said, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. "He's a guy who cares a lot. That means a lot in this league."

"He is going to throw the ball and make his reads," added tight end Vance McDonald, who caught two touchdown passes from Rudolph and stands to potentially be the biggest beneficiary of the change at quarterback as Rudolph's security blanket. "I think he is very deliberate about that and that is something we can look forward to on offense."

Still, it's always risky business trusting a backup quarterback in fantasy. Rudolph has solid weapons in Smith-Schuster, McDonald and James Conner, but until he proves he can produce solid numbers with regularity, you should consider him a QB2. 

He's absolutely worth a roster stash, however. 

While McDonald has a chance to post very strong numbers with Rudolph, Smith-Schuster could see a decline in production with Roethlisberger injured. One positive, however, was that he was still targeted regularly with Rudolph in the game:

The question Rudolph has to answer is whether he can consistently deliver quality targets to Smith-Schuster, or hit him down the field for chunk plays. Through two games, Smith-Schuster hasn't quite lived up to his WR1 billing, catching 11 passes for 162 yards. 

Solid numbers, but at the moment, that's nothing more than flex production. It's hard to imagine Rudolph dramatically improving his upside. 

But the amount of targets Smith-Schuster received with Rudolph in the game is a promising sign. Different people will offer different projections, with some believing he's still in the WR1 tier.

That seems slightly optimistic, however. The safe bet is that Smith-Schuster will settle into the low-end WR2 range or even sink to a flex option, well below his preseason projections. James Washington remains an appealing stash, while Donte Moncrief has been dreadful to start the season and can be safely dropped. And McDonald is locked in place as a TE1 with Rudolph at the helm. 

Don't panic when it comes to the Steelers. Just know that a regression from certain players, namely the wideouts, is probable. Going from a proven veteran like Roethlisberger to a second-year player like Rudolph is a major adjustment, and one that typically doesn't benefit a team's wide receivers.