The Steelers will soon be looking to replace JuJu Smith-Schuster’s production from the slot. Here are four receivers who could take on his role in 2021.
Losing against the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round of the playoffs was only the tip of the iceberg as far as worries are concerned. ‘There’s always next year’ is a slogan that fans of most teams live by to help get them through the long winter months. Unfortunately, the Steelers have a tougher road ahead of them than nearly every team in the league.
Currently, Pittsburgh sits on a $34 million cap deficit as the cap floor is projected to drop to $176 million this year, according to Over the Cap. In addition to being forced to cut a number of players to get back under, the Steelers will be saying goodbye to many popular faces on the team. One of those is JuJu Smith-Schuster.
JuJu has been a fan favorite for several years now, and his physicality across the middle of the field will be missed. With the free agency period ahead of us, here are four wide receivers who could replace Smith-Schuster for the Steelers in 2021:
Nelson Agholor
If the Steelers want to get a JuJu-like player for about half the price, look no further than Raiders receivers, Nelson Agholor. While he never lived up to lofty expectations as a former first-round pick by the Eagles back in 2015, he is still going strong after 6 seasons in the NFL, and he certainly has a role on a football team.
Agholor is coming off the best season of his career, as he earned 896 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2020 on an impressive 18.7 yards per catch. His yards and touchdown numbers were very similar to JuJu’s and he could prove to be equally effective in Smith-Schuster’s old role at a discounted price.
James Washington
James Washington is the receiver most likely to fill this role – mainly because he’s already on the team. Though Washington did most of his damage outside of the hashes in 2020, there is plenty of reason to believe that he could slide into the slot and take on JuJu’s old role for the Steelers.
Though he may not be quite as shifty after the catch, Washington is deceitfully fast and he pacts a punch on impact (thing his touchdown against the Cowboys from five yards out in Week 9). The former second-round draft choice certainly does not lack physicality at the catch point and he was very good for Pittsburgh down the stretch.
While we don’t know if Washington is going to be a candidate who could re-sign with the team beyond the 2021 season when his rookie contract expires, he could have a shot to prove his worth as the reliable safety value over the middle of this season. With the way he has stepped up his game over the past two seasons, Washington deserves a shot at a much larger role.
Rashard Higgins
When you think about Rashard Higgins, there are no spectacular traits that stick out in your mind. He was an incredibly poor athlete coming out of the 2016 NFL Draft, and he’s never been more than Cleveland’s third option. However, Higgins is as tough as nails, and he would be a cheap candidate to replace JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2021.
Though he has never earned more than 53 targets in a season throughout his first five years in the league, Higgins has been remarkably efficient with his looks – catching 113 of 178 passes for 1,615 yards (14.3 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns. Higgins is also coming off the best season of his NFL career in 2020. Starting 6 games and playing in 13, Higgins managed nearly 600 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on 16.2 yards per catch.
In addition, Higgins was credited with 0 drops and had a 119.0 passer rating when targeted. He has just 4 combined drops over the past three years (36 games). Rashard Higgins might not have any special qualities or athletic traits, but he’s a gritty competitor who just finds a way to win at the catch point.
Amari Rodgers
Obviously, there are a plethora of directions the Steelers could go in the NFL Draft this year, but don’t be surprised if the Steelers take a wide receiver on day two of the draft yet again (they have done so for four consecutive seasons). One player who makes a ton of sense as a replacement for JuJu Smith-Schuster is Clemson’s, Amari Rodgers.
At 5’10” Rodgers is shorter than JuJu, but he makes up for it with a powerful 210-pound frame. Rodgers is tough at the catch point, but still has the speed to get vertical and stretch the field. Like Smith-Schuster, he does most of his damage from the slot, and he doesn’t have a problem absorbing a hit as soon as he touches the football.
Though Rodgers did have the benefit of playing with the best quarterback in college football in Trevor Lawrence, he didn’t disappoint either as he caught 77 balls for 1,020 yards and 7 touchdowns this year in 12 contests. It’s also worth noting that Lawrence didn’t play in two of those games.
The Steelers will no doubt be looking to add depth at wide receiver this offseason with the imminent departure of JuJu Smith-Schuster. It will be interesting to see if they let James Washington move inside to take on his role, or if they will look for a slot receiver to replace him with.