Do the Steelers need him?
This flows into the next question: do the Steelers need Smith-Schuster to succeed? As of now, Smith-Schuster is third on the team in receiving yards as fellow receivers Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson have jumped him in terms of yardage. That said, these three are only separated by a total of 29 yards. This ball is getting evenly spread around, meaning that this offense doesn’t rely on one receiver.
While Smith-Schuster undoubtedly takes a lot of coverage off of the other options, is that worth 16 plus million dollars per season on a cap-strapped team? The Steelers still have James Washington who could easily start with the other receivers. Throw in the emergence of Eric Ebron, Ray-Ray McCloud, and this team’s success drafting receivers, and there shouldn’t be a huge hole left if Smith-Schuster were to leave.
The two biggest issues with him leaving are he is a young talent and he is the only primary slot receiver. While McCloud could try to develop more there, he is more of a gadget player and less of a true receiver. What would make more sense is to move Johnson to the inside as his route running and ability to make someone miss could work well on the inside. More than likely though, the team would have to target a slot style receiver in the draft to make up for it.
While this unit would certainly take a hit by losing Smith-Schuster, it seems like it’s a loss they could handle. Throw in a higher round rookie and move some parts around and this group shouldn’t skip a beat. That doesn’t mean the Steelers should ignore Smith-Schuster by any means, but it makes resigning him at that contract number more of a luxury. It would be a loss, but one that the team should be able to overcome.