4 Steelers who should be benched in Week 14 against Bills

WR Diontae Johnson

Diontae Johnson has some traits that could make him a very good receiver one day. He’s excellent at beating press coverage and he can routinely create separation out of his breaks. Most of all, he’s incredibly slippery with the ball in his hands, and he offers tremendous value after the catch. Unfortunately, Johnson is coming off the two worst games of his career, and something has to be done.

While Johnson has the ability to pluck difficult passes out of the air, he has also had concerning drop issues early in his career. Now in the back half of year two, the Steelers need to find a way to correct this. They can start by benching him in the first half against the Buffalo Bills. Obviously, this is a game that the Steelers need to win to hold onto first place in the AFC, but with capable receivers like James Washington and Chase Claypool getting significantly fewer snaps, Pittsburgh should roll with some other receivers at least early on against the Bills.

Johnson has great upside, but the belief that he will develop into a number one receiver is fading as he continues to make more mistakes than ever. His drops and carelessness with the ball are some concerning issues that Pittsburgh needs to nip in the bud right away before this becomes an issue that plagues his whole career.