Buy/Sell/Hold Report #1
BUY orders: These are players you could obtain through a reasonable trade given their relatively low perceived fantasy value.
BUY Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers
Let’s work from the ground up here. Pittsburgh’s running game might be the biggest reason to like Roethlisberger’s fantasy stock from here on. It stinks. The Steelers haven’t been able to run the ball at all through 3 weeks. That didn’t seem like a big deal against the Ravens. It was explainable at Seattle. But Indy? Sure, the Colts might have improved in run defense. But there’s no excuse for Rashard Mendenhall picking up just 37 yards on 18 carries. Pittsburgh will need Roethlisberger to carry the offense. He ranked just 14th in the league last year with 32.4 pass attempts per game, but that was ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Roethlisberger’s up to 36 a game this year and is completing about 64%. It’s not hard to envision him climbing even closer to 40 per week. On the other end of those passes, Mike Wallace continues his ascension to the league’s upper WR echelon. Antonio Brown has emerged as not just a speed threat, but also a dependable 3rd-down conversion target. Emmanuel Sanders should present more value as he gets further beyond his preseason foot problems. Roethlisberger faces defenses the next 3 weeks – Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville – that haven’t provided a ton of fantasy points for opposing passers. The Titans and Jaguars have been stingy against the run, though, and should coax the Steelers into air challenges. After that stretch come matchups with Arizona and New England. Both rank among the top-6 in most fantasy points allowed to QBs so far. Roethlisberger has yet to throw more than 1 TD pass in a game yet this year, but he has reached 280 yards every week. The scores will join soon.
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