4 reasons why Heath Miller will be a top 7 Tight End this year

1.     Jerricho Cotchery and Emanuel Sanders left Pittsburgh- These two players were major parts of the passing offense for Big Ben as they combined for 1342 yards, 188 targets, and a whooping 16 TDs. Some of that will go to a healthier Le’veon Bell and some of it will go to the number option 1 Antonio Brown. I expect Heath Miller however, to get a big chunk of those targets and TDs because…

2.   Heath Miller was already a huge red zone threat in 2012- 2013 was a lost season for Heath Miller as he was coming back from an ACL/MCL tare along with the fact that Cotchery comes out of nowhere and grabs 10 touchdowns. However, if you look at Miller’s 2012 numbers, you’ll find that he was targeted 19 times in the red zone converting 7 of them into touchdowns. I fully expect a repeat of those numbers with a less talented Steelers' receiving corps. Speaking of which…

3.  Miller is by far the biggest guy in the Steelers' receiving corps- The Steelers don’t have a WR monster like Calvin Johnson or Dez Bryant that Roethlisberger can just throw jump balls to during red zone situations. Even their number one guy Antonio Brown is only 5’10’’. Offseason signee Darius Heyward-bay has decent size but he’s shown in the past that he’s not starting material being listed as the number 4 WR. Markus Wheaton has a chance to be a decent sleeper pick but again he’s a small 5’11” and is unproven. Lance Moore is okay for what he is and had a few good years in New Orleans but he’s the smallest receiver out of everyone at 5’9’’. That leaves the 6’5” Heath Miller as the obvious go to guy for Big Ben on 3^rd down and Red Zone situations. Speaking of Big Ben…

4.   Miller is Big Ben’s most trusted receivers- Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Jason Witten have been what people call “security blankets” for their respective quarterbacks for years and have always been relied upon when their signal caller is in trouble. Add Heath Miller to that list as you won’t find a tandem more trusting in one another, than Ben and Miller. For the past 9 years, a couple of Superbowl MVP and several other 1000 yard receivers have come and gone through Pittsburgh but Heath Miller and Big Ben have stayed there year after year. It’s a passing league and Big Ben’s been throwing the ball more than ever with increases in attempts per game for the past 3 years. This year, it’s going to take a while for Roethlisberger to adjust to his new roster. In that time, when he is under heavy pressure, I fully expect Ben to throw to his most trusted receiver, Heath Miller.

Projection- I think that a repeat of Miller's 2012 number is extremely doable give the circumstance that he is in . I think that Miller will easily average 50 yards a game and score 7 touchdowns putting him at 800/7 which last year would have put him 7^th behind Jordan Cameron.