Players who will outplay Ben
You don’t have to see the future to take an educated guess at which quarterbacks will outperform the aging Steelers quarterback next season. At this point, there are several passers who are playing at a whole different level and have had greater single-season personal accomplishments than Roethlisberger has ever seen.
Those players that I’m referring to are Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson (assuming the latter stays in the conference). We can also assume that a few young, rising talents like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert – who had one of the best rookie seasons we have ever seen – will outplay an aging Ben in 2021. This means the best-case scenario for Roethlisberger in 2021 is the 5th-best quarterback in the AFC.
Players who could potentially outplay Ben
This brings us to a sizable group of players who all have the potential to outplay Ben Roethlisberger in 2021. As Ben’s play continues to decline in his old age, other younger quarterbacks are taking a step forward. Some of these names include former league MVP Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, and Ryan Tannehill.
It’s also entirely possible that a few other names could join them on this list. Still very unproven, I wouldn’t be stunned if Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, and newly acquired Colts quarterback Carson Wentz joined this list. This would give us a worst-case scenario of Roethlisberger being the 12th-best quarterback in the AFC next year.