The Pittsburgh Steelers may have a commanding division lead with a 4-1 record, but there are still plenty of doubters out there. The schedule gets very hard very soon, so it will be interesting to see how far this team has really grown. Maybe they would end up trading for a wide receiver soon enough to add an extra dimension to this offense that seems to be getting on track. There are still plenty of possibilities for Pittsburgh. There is also a very long way to go where anything can happen.
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Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski greets Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin near midfield after their teams played one another in a professional football game in Cleveland, OH.
The Steelers may already have the end of the season in mind. On the latest episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger gave an interesting theory to why Pittsburgh has not broken out some of their weapons in recent weeks.
"It's almost like Arthur Smith and the Steelers offense -- they're like 'We have a bunch of weapons still. We're just slowly letting them out of the bag," Roethlisberger said. "It's like 'We're not giving you everything we have right now' because I think there still has got to be a big place in this offense for Pat [Freiermuth]. Where is Pat? What is going on? Even Jonnu [Smith], I still think there's a lot that can be used there. It'll be interesting to see how Arthur keeps utilizing the different people on offense."
Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith has had some quality gameplans in recent weeks, but there are still plenty of concerns about his player usage. Outside of top wideout DK Metcalf, there have been quite a few players tabbed to be major pieces of this offense that just have not been used as much as anticipated, or even at all.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Arthur Smith on the sidelines during a win over the New England Patriots in Week 3 of the 2025 season.
It starts with supposed starting tight end Pat Freiermuth, who has been in the middle of trade rumors for no other reason than his lack of usage. He has just two total catches in the previous three games, and it feels like he's been phased out of the offense. He may not be a great blocker, but he can open the middle of the field and use his big body to get open in the end zone.
Meanwhile, the Steelers traded for Jonnu Smith because of his connection with the offensive coordinator. He has seen more action than Freiermuth, but nothing that stretches the field. He has five receptions for 24 yards in the previous two games. Less than five yards per catch is not efficient, and that is not what made Pittsburgh take him in that big package deal with in the 2025 offseason.
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Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith gets some work in as the team participates in a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
While that's happening, Roman Wilson can't find his way into the offense at all. He has just three targets all season long, with two receptions. For a player that was supposed to show growth in this unit, he has not even been able to prove himself on the field. There have been no complaints about him since the early days of training camp, so why is he not on the field? Is Arthur Smith really just saving him for later?
Steelers Know About Smith's Reputation From Previous Job
When Smith was the Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he developed a reputation for not using his big-time players in favor of backups. However, that included overusing Jonnu Smith over someone like Kyle Pitts, but that could be a concern now. Hopefully, Arthur Smith is just loading the bullets and waiting for the right time to fire away. That time may be sooner rather than later, though.
What do you think about the idea that Smith is saving his big weapons for later in the year? Do you think that's the case? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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