The next team up in a series that will answer one important 4-EYED fantasy question from each of the 32 clubs in the NFL heading into the 2020 season is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 2018, JuJu Smith-Schuster had a sophomore year for the ages as the number two wide receiver for the Steelers where posted:
- 1,426 receiving yards on 166 targets
- 7 Touchdowns
- 15.1 fantasy points/gm
In 2019, with the departure of Antonio Brown, JuJu was crowned the number one wide receiver for the Steelers and with that designation followed all the hype as well as concern that went along with that honor. With him being the primary focus of the receiving game going forward, questions arose of whether he would be talented enough to fill the shoes that Antonio Brown left or if he would be able to live up to the hype that he earned for himself in 2018? Regardless of the questions that surrounded him, that did not deter fantasy football fans last season as he was drafted on average as the 5th wide receiver (mid-second-round pick) in 2019 according to Fantasy Football Calculator.
Flash forward to 2020 and we all know how things turned out for JuJu. His quarterback went down for the season in Week 2, he battled various injuries throughout the season, he dealt with horrific quarterback play, and he ended up finishing as the WR61 in fantasy points per game. Now, as we get ready for fantasy football REDRAFT season in 2020 JuJu’s ADP has him as the WR12 according to FantasyPros…aka a WR1 draft pick. However, is that high of a ranking warranted and should he be taken at that draft cost? These are good questions to ponder. Therefore in this article, we’re going to answer the question, What To Do With JuJu In 2020?
Making The Case That He’s A Top 12 WR
It’s hard to ignore the statistics of 1,426 receiving yards on 166 targets in 2018. I mean that was 4th best at the position in the NFL. His 92 targets from the slot led the league, he averaged double-digit targets 63% of the time during the season, he was the second-ranked wide receiver in the league in RedZone targets, he averaged 8.6 yards per target, and all that was done on a 24.5% target share that was SECOND on his own team. I mean, the guy was a monster. What I found most impressive was his contested catch metrics. When facing tough defensive coverage and being placed into a position where he would be forced to go up and “get it” versus a defender (a situation where he was tested the 3rd most among all of WRs that season) he caught those balls the 3rd most in the league at the position only behind Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins. That’s pretty impressive company to be around.
No matter how you slice it, whether he was taking advantage of defensive mismatches or being forced to compete for difficult catches, JuJu showed just how dominant he can be when utilized properly in that offense.
I mention being utilized properly because that brings me to the next case…
Making The Case That He’s NOT Top 12 WR
*Before I start we’ll ignore quarterback play in this argument because it goes without saying the backup QB options in Pittsburgh are abysmal and if he were to play with them again he would probably have another down year.*
Ask yourselves this question, what has he actually DONE to show you that he can be productive as the TOP receiving option on his team? In 2018, he had Antonio Brown drawing all the most difficult cornerback coverage away from him. For an athlete like Smith-Schuster, it was probably easy for him to go up and get all those contested catches against “weaker” defenders than it was going up against the elite of the elite. Not only that but what actual help does he have to draw tough matchups away from him this upcoming season?! We can all sing the praises of Diontae Johnson as a sleeper in drafts all we want but is he really a threat in this passing game?! I’m not trying to take away what he did in 2019, but anointing him as some hidden marvel at the position is the equivalent of giving a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest a participation ribbon because at least he tried. He was the “break glass in case of emergency” receiving option on that team last season, so let’s cool the jets on that hype. But back to Smith-Schuster.
The answer to all these questions is NOTHING. He has done nothing to show that he’s able to make that transition from a WR2 to a WR1 on his own team. In one game with Big Ben last year he only had 6 receptions on 8 targets for 78 yards. Big deal. He’s currently going ahead in ADP above other wide receivers such as Adam Thielen, D.J. Moore, Cooper Kupp, and Calvin Ridley. Those wide receivers are safer at an earlier value because we KNOW what they can do in the roles they have on their offenses. We STILL have no clue what JuJu can do full-time in his new role, and yet he’s being ranked as the 12th best wide receiver?! Give me a break.
Answering The Question
What To Do With JuJu In 2020?
Good question. The answer, the way I see it, is that you should be drafting him for his floor potential, not his ceiling. The circumstances behind how he was so productive in 2018 are COMPLETLY different now, and with a one-game sample size from 2019, it’s hard for me to justify drafting him with WR1 value. Furthermore, when thinking about drafting JuJu high in your drafts think about how good the other receiving options on this team are. Are any of them truly capable of drawing away enough coverage to allow JuJu to reach his full potential in this offense? I don’t know. And if I don’t know chances are that YOU don’t know either. And generally, when investing in early picks for my skill position players I want more assurances than question marks. Proceed with caution, #4EYEDfans, but at the same time know that his floor as a WR2 on your team is probably the highest of any other WR2 option out there given the pass-heavy nature of the Steelers offense!
