Ben Roethlisberger is one of the hardest-working quarterbacks in the NFL as the former first-round pick prepares for his ninth season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. As for the fantasy football 2012 season, there’s no reason why Roethlisberger shouldn’t put up big numbers once again for owners as the Steelers look to reach the playoffs for the ninth time in 12 seasons.

Roethlisberger crossed the 4,000-yard mark for the second time in his career last season after throwing for 4,077 yards to go along with 21 touchdowns and should make a solid mid-round pick for fantasy teams. Roethlisberger is worthy of being a low-end No. 1 quarterback, but he isn’t known for displaying monstrous numbers like some of the other top-10 quarterbacks in the NFL each week–so he’s not worth snagging in the early rounds.

Still, that doesn’t mean fantasy owners should avoid Roethlisberger completely considering he has one of the top options at wide receiver the NFL has to offer in Mike Wallace. There’s something special about Roethlisberger that sets him apart from the rest of the quarterbacks in the league as he seems capable of making throws that nobody else can make.

Just look at some of the game tape from the 2011 season and see how many times a play appeared to be over–only to have Big Ben pull off a miraculous pass for the first down. He may not put up Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees type numbers on a weekly option, but Roethlisberger is certainly worthy of being a No. 1 option at quarterback in most fantasy leagues.

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Fantasy Football Top 10 Quarterback Rankings:

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Drew Brees
3. Tom Brady
4. Matthew Stafford
5. Cam Newton
6. Eli Manning
7. Michael Vick
8. Philip Rivers
9. Tony Romo
10. Ben Roethlisberger