Steelers JuJu Smith-Schuster could be top fantasy WR in 2019
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers boasted some of the best fantasy football players in 2018. Here’s why JuJu could be the best fantasy wide receiver to own in 2019.
In 2018, the Steelers had some of the best football players money can buy – auction money from your fantasy draft league, that is. From a fantasy perspective, players like Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner, and Ben Roethlisberger were brilliant last season.
With Antonio Brown no longer part of the picture in Pittsburgh, JuJu stands to see an even greater role in 2019. Could he be the top receiver in fantasy football?
I certainly think it’s possible for a number of reasons. For one, the Steelers possess one of the most high-powered passing attacks. Though Ben wasn’t always efficient throwing the ball last season, Brown and JuJu were the beneficiaries of a high-volume passing game.
The Steelers were second in the league in pass percentage plays – slinging the ball 67.39 percent of their total offensive plays, according to Team Rankings.
Ben Roethlisberger outpaced every quarterback in the league with 675 pass attempts last season. Because of this, JuJu stands to be a top receiver in targets his way in 2019.
The loss of Antonio Brown could also be addition by subtraction for JuJu Smith-Schuster. Brown hogged the 3rd greatest amount of targets in the NFL a season ago – just two less than Julio Jones for the league lead.
Obviously not all of Brown’s 168 targets are going to go to JuJu, but the young receiver (who was already the 4th most targeted player in the league) stands to see an uptick in targets again this year.
Even with Antonio Brown complaining for targets on the team last season, JuJu was still an extremely consistent fantasy option. Though it’s possible that his efficiency could take a dip without an All-Pro receiver to help draw coverage away, his overall production may be able to increase in 2019.
There are certainly other receivers in the mix to be the top fantasy producer in 2019. Players like Julio Jones, Odell Beckham, and Davante Adams, and Michael Thomas are great fantasy performers in their own right.
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However, with the Steelers passing the ball so much and JuJu already sitting on a 111 catch, 1,426 yard season by the age of 22, it stands to reason that he could be even better from a fantasy perspective in 2019. Perhaps enough to make him the single best fantasy receiver in the league this year.