Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster good about number of targets

Last week against the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers attempted 32 passes, completing 18 of them. Of those 32 attempts, 25 of them went to wide receivers. Of those 25, 10 went to Diontae Johnson, eight to JuJu Smith-Schuster, five to Chase Claypool and two went to James Washington.

Smith-Schuster made a point on Friday when he spoke to the media that the wide receivers were all upbeat about how the ball was distributed and noted there was no “No negativity on the sidelines” about not getting the football.

When you have three viable top wide receivers along with a pair of pass-catching tight ends and a dual-threat running back on the roster, the distribution of workload is going to be tenuous. Like it or not, these guys all have egos and in the case of Smith-Schuster and Washington are playing for a new contract at the end of the season. As long as the team is winning, this shouldn’t become much of an issue but if the team struggles this could get ugly.

However, it isn’t Ben Roethlisberger’s responsibility to make sure every one of his skill players get enough touches. I want to pass the question off to Steeler Nation. Should Roethlisberger be conscious of how he is distributing the football or just focus on winning?

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