The Pittsburgh Steelers need to re-sign Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster this offseason. The 25 year old came back to the Steelers this year on a 1 year, $8 million dollar contract. Smith-Schuster only played in five games this season after sustaining a season-ending shoulder surgery versus the Denver Broncos.

Background

The Steelers selected JuJu in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has become one of the most trusted targets and biggest names in the NFL since that time. For his career he has 323 receptions for 3,855 yards and 26 touchdowns. He was a Pro-Bowler in his second season in the league. After that season, things started to turn for JuJu’s productivity.

The Slide

Entering his third season, everyone had high hopes for JuJu. Unfortunately Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sustained a season-ending elbow injury in the second game of the season. The Steelers were led by backups Mason Rudolph and Devlin “Duck” Hodges the rest of the way.

When Ben returned in 2020 then at the age of 38, Pittsburgh had a new offense. With terrific athletes on the outside like JuJu (second-year man Dionte Johnson and rookie Chase Claypool as well) the Steelers adopted a throw-short-run-long offense. JuJu’s Average Depth of Target, or ADOT, decreased from 8.8 in 2018 and 9.7 in 2019, to just 5.5 in 2020. His longest reception in 2020 was just 31 yards, after going for 97, 97, and 76 in his previous three seasons.

The Spin

While those stats are disappointing, they actually mean something very positive. Smith-Schuster became such a reliable target for Roethlisberger, that the team’s game plan always included him being near the line of scrimmage. With his size, toughness, and physicality JuJu became one of the top 3rd-and-short options in the league. Making tough catches over the middle of the field and fighting for third-down conversions.

With Claypool now acting as the “Z” receiver with his downfield profile, and Johnson the “X” with his excellent separation and route-running, JuJu was acting like a tight end more than a true downfield receiver.

This Year

After JuJu got hurt, we’ve gotten to learn a lot about the Steelers’ other young pass catchers. Rookie Tight End Pat Freiermuth has taken on the short-yardage, sure handed role. Dionte Johnson has continued to thrive and become one of the league’s best receivers. Chase Claypool however, has had his issues with maturity and production.

JuJu’s most missed quality might be his toughness. He is the best blocking receiver on the team. And while Freiermuth has the desire to be a good blocker, at this time he lacks the strength to do it as effectively as JuJu. I don’t think the Bengals would be able to question Pittsburgh’s toughness if JuJu were out there

Looking Ahead

The Steelers need to re-sign JuJu this offseason. He took less money this year to come back at one more shot with Roethlisberger, but the team should be motived to have number 19 for the future quarterback.

Whether it’s a rookie, player on the roster, or free agent quarterback the team should want as many weapons as possible for someone coming into a new situation. With a new quarterback also comes a new system. Hopefully the team can allow JuJu to make plays downfield again to play to his true value and skill.

Spreading The Wealth

It has been reported that this will be Roethlisberger’s last season. If this is true it will obviously provide the team with a lot of cap room. For years this team has had cheap skill guys, expensive offensive line, and a franchise quarterback. Looking ahead, that distribution could be flipped.

Unless the team trades for another top level quarterback, you’re looking at spending less than $10 million on that position. And with rookies up and down the line Pittsburgh’s not spending much there either.

Dionte Johnson will be looking for a contract extension this summer. The Steelers can and should pay both him and JuJu to usher in the next era of the Steelers offense.

The Claypool Factor

Chase Claypool is the big question mark for me at this time. Both after the draft and season last year one would think he was the next WR1 of this team. JuJu was a free agent and his role had diminished. Johnson was struggling with drops. Claypool was expected to take a leap this year in terms of role and production. His size and speed should make him a great outside receiver. And that size should also make him a good player in the slot.

However that has not been the case. His speed and play style do not let him blow by good corners, making him a jump-ball receiver on the outside. While he has some highlight plays to his credit in this area, he has not been productive enough for this to be his only means of yards.

Despite JuJu’s injury the coaching staff has not trusted Claypool enough to put him in the slot. That position requires an amount of consistency that he has not shown. The ability to read the field, find the open spot and complete a tough catch. Skills Smith-Schuster has become elite at, but not yet something Claypool has accomplished.

His lack of maturity is also a factor. We all know about JuJu’s dancing debacle last year, but between the whistles that guy is all business.

Claypool’s maturity issues have been an issue all season. Consistently receiving unsportsmanlike or unnecessary roughness penalties. Those problems all came to a head in the Steelers’ Thursday Night game against the Vikings.

If you had asked me six months ago, I would’ve said Claypool might be the only receiver to get another contract in Pittsburgh. But at this time he might be the one who doesn’t. With his long-term standing up in the air, it’s all the more important to retain JuJu long term.

Conclusion

The Steelers should re-sign Juju. He is the most consistent receiver on the team. His toughness and reliability are traits that have been carried through Steelers pass-catchers like Hines Ward and Heath Miller.

This summer the Steelers cut cornerback Steven Nelson in order to bring JuJu back. Then he only got to play in five games. Clearly this team values number 19. With the way this team has looked this season they should turn that value into a real investment, and bring him back for this new era of Steelers football.

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