2021 Steelers Fantasy Football Preview: Can Big Ben turn back the clock?

Ben Roethlisberger stayed wholesome and the offense bounced again in 2020, but it surely wasn’t the identical offense we have been used to. It was all brief passes designed to get the ball out shortly, and there have been some arduous to look at stretches consequently. The Steelers invested closely within the offense within the draft, however will it’s sufficient?  

2020 Overview

File: 12 – 4 (4)
PPG: 26.0 (12)
YPG: 334.6 (24)
Go YPG: 250.2 (15)
Rush YPG: 84.4 (32)
PAPG: 41.0 (1)
RAPG: 23.3 (28)

2020 Fantasy finishes

QB: Ben Roethlisberger QB14
RB: James Conner* RB27
WR: Diontae Johnson WR21, JuJu Smith-Schuster WR24, Chase Claypool WR32
TE: Eric Ebron TE15
*Not with group

Quantity to know: 2.17

That was Roethlisberger’s common time to throw final season, the bottom within the NFL by 0.21 seconds. I do not wish to paint the image like Roethlisberger was utterly unwilling to push the ball down the sphere as a lot as that he was simply atypically passive. If the scenario was excellent, Roethlisberger was prepared to take his deep pictures. But when he felt a whiff of stress, he was eliminating the ball. And that occurred so much most of the time, as he removed the ball in beneath 2.5 seconds on a whopping 73% of his dropbacks; the median qualifying quarterback was at 49%. His common meant air yards fell to 7.1 yards in 2020 in comparison with 7.7 in 2018, 9.2 in 2017, and 9.4 in 2016. Roethlisberger appeared like he was doing every little thing he might to keep away from getting sacked, and you’ll’t play like that and achieve success. The query is whether or not he’ll play a bit extra free and free now that he is one other yr faraway from an elbow harm. 

2021 Offseason

Draft Picks 

1. (24) Najee Harris, RB
2. (55) Pat Freiermuth, TE
3. (87) Kendrick Green, C
4. (128) Dan Moore Jr., OT
4. (140) Buddy Johnson, LB
5. (156) Isaiahh Loudermilk, DE
6. (216) Quincy Roche, OLB
7. (245) Tre Norwood, CB
7. (254) Pressley Harvin III, P

Additions

T Joe Haeg, G Trai Turner, C B.J. Finney, 

Key Departures

LB Bud Dupree, CB Mike Hilton, RT Matt Feiler, LT Alejandro Villanueva, RB James Conner, C Maurkice Pouncey, G David DeCastro  

Obtainable Alternative 

169 carries, 43 RB targets, 35 WR targets, 20 TE targets

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2021 Preview

Chris Towers’ projections

Largest Query

Is Ben Roethlisberger simply washed up?

Bizarre query to ask a few man coming off a 33-touchdown season, however Roethlisberger simply wasn’t excellent final season. He posted a career-low 6.3 yards per try, both due to an offensive recreation plan that prioritized brief passes over every little thing or from an unwillingness to hold on to the ball and take probabilities. Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool might be the perfect WR group within the NFL, however their collective upside is capped if Roethlisberger does not play extra aggressively in 2021.

One sleeper, one breakout and one bust

As a lot as I’ve my doubts about Roethlisberger, I can not deny that that is arrange for him to have a really, excellent season. As poorly as he performed in 2020, he completed as QB14 and had 12 multi-touchdown video games. He has a lot expertise round him at receiver, plus an improve at operating again, that if he is even somewhat bit extra assured in his capacity to hit the deep ball, Roethlisberger might be glorious. In a 2QB league, he is a effective second possibility, and in case you do not wish to spend up on the place, he might get off to an awesome begin towards the Bills, Raiders and Bengals to open the season.  

Johnson took a number of flak — to not point out a quick benching — for his points with drops final season. He dropped a whopping 13 passes, together with six in a three-game stretch, and it is arduous to not maintain that towards him. However here is the factor: His group did not, so that you should not. Certain, Johnson was benched in Week 14 after his sixth drop in three video games. However he got here again out in Week 15 and earned 13 targets, and had a whopping 47 within the remaining 4 video games of the season after that benching. That is a 200-target tempo over 17 video games. The related data right here just isn’t the drops, it is the truth that Johnson was so constantly open that he stored incomes these targets. The drops had been largely not Johnson’s fault, anyway — he was working largely in the course of the sphere within the brief vary, the place drops occur most frequently. I am unsure Johnson is sweet sufficient to warrant the quantity of consideration he will get from Roethlisberger, however you may’t deny the function he has had. If he has that very same function, he is obtained top-12 upside in PPR. 

If Roethlisberger does enhance in his second season faraway from elbow surgical procedure, Claypool figures to be the largest beneficiary as the perfect downfield possibility on the group. However, if I’ll be skeptical of Roethlisberger, it naturally follows I might even be fairly skeptical of Claypool. There isn’t any denying the expertise right here — Claypool goes to be a power within the NFL. But when the Steelers nonetheless have a timid Roethlisberger beneath heart, Claypool goes to stay frustratingly inconsistent. I can not justify Claypool at his 69.8 ADP.

So which sleepers, breakouts and busts must you goal and fade? And which QB shocks the NFL with a top-five efficiency? Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Josh Allen’s huge season, and discover out.