Through the first 10 games of the season, Pittsburgh Steelers second-year running back James Conner has been a major offensive factor with his ability to impact the game greatly as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield.

However, he has recently gone through a stretch where he has had some difficulty holding onto the ball as late with a few drops. Despite that, Pro Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has continued to voice confidence in Conner picking it up in that area moving forward, according to Joe Rutter of Triblive.com.

Through 10 games, Conner has 45 receptions for 411 yards (a 9.1 average) and one touchdown. He is sixth among running backs in receptions and ninth in yards.

“His hands have been great,” Roethlisberger said.

That’s the message Roethlisberger will continue relaying to Conner as the Steelers prepare to play the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

“We need him,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s part of being a professional football player, putting things behind you both good and bad.”

Conner may be struggling a bit in that area of his game, but it has derailed him being able to produce at a high level as he's currently fourth in the league with 796 rushing yards that include toppling 100 rushing yards five times along with 10 touchdowns. He has also made 45 catches for 411 receiving yards a touchdown.

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He is coming off his least productive performance of the season rushing for 25 yards on nine carries with six receptions for 24 receiving yards. However, it was an outing that the entire team had trouble getting going until the fourth quarter where the Steelers were able to pull out a 20-16 win on the road against a stout Jacksonville Jaguars defense.

Beyond that, there is still some tremendous confidence in Conner from his teammates that he can work through his recent struggles and get back on track as one of their primary offensive factors.