Steelers JuJu noticed ‘huge change’ in James Washington this year

Steelers wide receiver James Washington struggled as a rookie. Here’s how JuJu Smith-Schuster noticed a ‘huge change’ in the young receiver entering 2019.

I had my doubts about the Pittsburgh Steelers 2018 draft class. Terrell Edmunds struggled during the first half of his rookie season, and James Washington failed to make a positive impact.

Things started to turn around towards the end of the season for Edmunds, however. While the first round safety was finally making waves, James Washington continued to go unnoticed. He finished his rookie season tied for the worst graded qualifying wide receiver in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

Criticism may have been raining down upon James Washington all offseason, but that hasn’t stopped the second year wide-out from impressing in training camp and the preseason.

I’m obviously not the only one to notice this improvement. His teammate and fellow wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster, recently spoke very highly of James Washington during an interview:

During the interview, JuJu did a good job of mentioning most of his wide receiver counterparts. However, his words on James Washington were particularly noteworthy.

When asked about what changes he has seen in James Washington, JuJu had the following to say of his teammate:

"“Oh man, huge difference. Huge change. He’s increased, as you guys can see during preseason, he’s making plays left and right. Like I said, there is no doubt in my mind he’s going to be doing that during the season. Super excited to watch him.”"

JuJu’s praise of James Washington doesn’t come as a big surprise, as he gets to see the plays he makes in practice every day.

For those of you who didn’t get to make the trip to Latrobe this year, Washington was equally impressive during camp as he has been in the preseason so far. He has improved at using his frame and strong hands very well at the catch point, and has refined his route running.

Donte Moncrief was once thought to be a lock as the Steelers number two receiver to open the season, but Washington has made an excellent push in recent weeks. If he continues to progress at this rate, it will be hard for Mike Tomlin and Randy Fichtner to keep him off the field.

It still remains to be seen exactly how the Steelers plan to unleash each of their new receivers this year. While Donte Moncrief and rookie Diontae Johnson will definitely be in the fold, we are beginning to expect a big role from James Washington in 2019.