The Pittsburgh Steelers have some young, promising wide receivers. Here’s why James Washington could fly under the radar in 2020.
Antonio Brown may no longer be with the team, but that doesn’t mean that Pittsburgh Steelers receivers aren’t drawing any buzz. JuJu Smith-Schuster stands to be the lead dog in the wide receiver room this year, and he is one of the most popular players on the team.
Outside of JuJu, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool have both been recognized often this offseason. Johnson is coming off an excellent rookie season in which he led all rookies in receptions and led all NFL receivers in separation, according to Next Gen Stats.
Likewise, Claypool is receiving a lot of praise in training camp so far. The big, athletic receiver was Pittsburgh’s top draft choice this past April, and his potentially lethal combination of size and speed is enough to get any fan excited.
However, one Steelers wide receiver who is unjustifiably lost in the Shuffle is James Washington. Washington’s social media accounts are as boring as his generic name. But I’m not saying this as a bad thing. While other Pittsburgh receivers were making headlines by live-streaming on twitch or earning recognition by drawing comparisons to Antonio Brown, Washington was busy at work on his 26-acre farm this offseason.
In 2019, Washington led all Steelers receivers with 735 yards last year. He did this with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at the helm. But despite being just 99th in the league in catchable target rate last year, according to Player Profiler, Washington was still towards the top of the league in efficiency – ranking 21st in the NFL in yards per target.
Last year, Washington consistently displayed his ability to rise over the top of defenders and come down with the ball. His catch against the Browns in the second half of the season was a great example of this, as he displayed the focus and body control to fight through pass interference and still come down with the touchdown.
In addition, Washington was terrific as a blocker last year and improved his ability to run routes and create separation in and out of his breaks. So why is the former second-round pick flying under the radar?
That’s tough to say. There could be several factors that go into this. For starters, Washington doesn’t exactly have unmatched size and athletic traits for the position. At 5’11” and 213 pounds, Washington entered the league with a running back-like build for the position, and his 63 percentile athleticism, according to Three Sigma Athlete, isn’t something that draws a lot of buzz.
It’s also possible that Washington has been getting lost in the fold thanks to the early success of JuJu Smith-Schuster, the promise Diontae Johnson showed as a rookie, and the physical traits of Chase Claypool.
James Washington showed us last year why we shouldn’t write him off as just another guy. In year three, he should make even more progress with Ben Roethlisberger on the field. The young receiver may not be flying under the radar for much longer.