This has been one of the most tumultuous weeks in fantasy football, and we’re not even through Week 3 yet.
We lost six starting quarterbacks to injury or demotion early in the week — and one of those lost last week was backup Trevor Siemian filling in for mono-stricken Sam Darnold. The fantasy fallout has been massive, as numerous owners are panicking over the changes and bailing on players like Michael Thomas, D.J. Moore and Jamison Crowder.
Though some might include JuJu Smith-Schuster among those to try and sell, a closer look at the Steelers should ease your concern and even promote an investment in their players.
The panic over losing Ben Roethlisberger seems a bit hasty. Over the past few years, statistics have shown the glaring lack of production on the road for the veteran quarterback. Fantasy owners have been benching him. There has also been major concern regarding his health — it seems at least three or four times a year, Big Ben tries to pull a Willis Reed and emerge from the locker room with just one good leg or a dragging shoulder or a limp caused by a bad back. This just might be addition by subtraction.
Mason Rudolph was drafted in the third round in 2018 and was labeled the heir-apparent to Roethlisberger. He showed marked improvement year after year at Oklahoma State and even earned the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award in his senior season.
His experience at the NFL level has been minimal, but with Roethlisberger taking off from practice every Wednesday for the past two years, Rudolph has logged significant time playing with the first team.
Rudolph’s arm accuracy and strong pocket presence should help him immensely in coordinator Randy Fichtner’s offense. He is calm under pressure and the use of quick, short timing patterns will allow him to connect with Smith-Schuster.
He thrives off play-action, so expect the Steelers to utilize James Conner heavily early in the game and open things up, allowing Rudolph to reconnect downfield with college teammate James Washington. And once the Steelers are in the red zone, Rudolph has an array of big targets — including Vance McDonald, who caught both of Rudolph’s touchdown passes last week.
When the Steelers head to San Francisco this week, don’t make the mistake of dismissing them. The 49ers may seem tough with their 2-0 record, but beating the Buccaneers and the Bengals doesn’t mean a thing. The Bengals are atrocious on both sides of the ball, and the Niners needed two defensive touchdowns to edge out the Bucs. The Steelers are more formidable than both clubs, and those fantasy owners who have faith will reap the benefits.
Howard Bender is VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays at 4 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football advice and NFL player rankings.