# Ben Skowronek

Bennett William Skowronek (/skəˈrɒnɪk/ skə-RON-ick; born June 27, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwestern and Notre Dame, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL draft.

## Early life

Skowronek grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended Homestead High School. He had 42 receptions for 841 yards and 12 touchdowns in his junior season. As a senior Skowronek caught 53 passes for 805 yards and nine touchdowns and was named first-team All-Indiana and was given the positional Mr. Indiana Football award.

## College career

Skowronek began his collegiate career at Northwestern. He became a starter going into his sophomore year and finished the season with 45 catches for 644 yards and five touchdowns. Skowronek recorded 45 reception for 562 yards and two touchdowns in his junior season. He caught 12 passes for 141 yards in three games as a senior before suffering a season-ending leg injury and taking a medical redshirt.
Following the end of his senior season, Skowronek announced he would be transferring to Notre Dame as a graduate student. He caught touchdown passes of 34 and 73 yards in a 45–3 win over Pittsburgh. Skowronek finished the season with 29 catches for 439 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for a touchdown.

### College statistics

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 2016 | Northwestern | 13 | 0 | 8 | 70 | 8.8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Northwestern | 13 | 13 | 45 | 644 | 14.3 | 58 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Northwestern | 14 | 14 | 45 | 562 | 12.5 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Northwestern | 3 | 3 | 12 | 141 | 11.8 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 11 | 10 | 29 | 439 | 15.1 | 73 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 13 | 1 |
| Career | Career | 54 | 40 | 139 | 1,856 | 13.4 | 73 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 13 | 1 |

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Bench press |
| 6 ft 2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 33+1⁄4 in (0.84 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 13 reps |
| All values from Pro Day |||||

### Los Angeles Rams
#### 2021 season

Skowronek was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round, 249th overall, of the 2021 NFL draft. On May 16, 2021, he signed his four-year rookie contract with Los Angeles. As a rookie, he appeared in 14 games and had one start. He finished with 11 receptions for 133 receiving yards. In Super Bowl LVI, Skowronek had two receptions for 12 yards in the 23–20 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.

#### 2022 season

In a Week 6 win against the Carolina Panthers, Skowronek had a 19-yard reception lining up as at fullback. In that game, Skowronek also had a 17-yard rushing touchdown, which was also the first touchdown of his career. Skowronek would continue to play fullback throughout the 2022 season. In a 17–16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14, Skowronek led the Rams with seven catches and 89 receiving yards. In the 2022 season, he appeared in 14 games, of which he started 11. He finished with 39 receptions for 376 receiving yards and one rushing touchdown.

#### 2023 season

During the 2023 season Skowronek continued his hybrid wide receiver/fullback role from the 2022 season. He played in 17 games and logged 8 receptions on 12 targets for 66 yards and 2 rushing attempts for 9 yards. He also recorded 13 tackles on special teams.

### Houston Texans

On May 9, 2024, the Rams traded Skowronek and a seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for a sixth-round pick. He was waived on August 27.

### Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 29, 2024, Skowronek was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on September 17, but placed on injured reserve the following day. He was active for the November 10 game against the Washington Commanders and recovered a fumbled punt.
Skowronek recorded 5 receptions on 5 targets for 69 yards, along with recording 2 fumble recoveries and 7 special teams tackles. In addition to playing wide receiver, Skowronek also played fullback, H-Back, and tight end. Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith would frequently have Skowronek move around the offense by using pre-snap motion.
On March 13, 2025, Skowronek re-signed with the Steelers.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost |
| 2021 | LAR | 14 | 1 | 11 | 133 | 12.1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | LAR | 14 | 11 | 39 | 376 | 9.6 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | LAR | 17 | 0 | 6 | 66 | 8.3 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | PIT | 10 | 1 | 5 | 69 | 13.8 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 55 | 13 | 63 | 644 | 10.2 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 8.7 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

### Postseason

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost |
| 2021 | LAR | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | LAR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 5 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Personal life

Skowronek has distant Polish roots, and is distantly related to the 1947 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lujack. He is a cousin of the Olympic gymnast Courtney Kupets, and former NFL quarterback Trent Green is an uncle by marriage.