5 early Pittsburgh Steelers offensive training camp positional battles in 2020

WR2: James Washington vs. Diontae Johnson

This one isn’t technically a battle for a starting role as both players will be on the field in three or more wide receiver sets. However, in 12-personnel (two receivers), only one of these two will lineup opposite of JuJu Smith-Schuster.

While Diontae Johnson seems like the clear choice after his impressive rookie season, don’t be too fast to rule out James Washington. Washington led all Pittsburgh receivers with 735 yards last year and really took a big leap forward in his second season. In addition, Washington is an incredible blocker from the wide receiver position that could help give the run game a boost on early downs.

Of course, there’s a chance Johnson and Washington could alternate in the WR2 spot based on the formation (which is a real possibility). However, it remains to be seen which player will be more heavily favored by Ben Roethlisberger in the passing game. We’ll have to see how this plays out.