In this year’s NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers had the 62nd overall selection in the second round. They used that selection on University of Southern California wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Grading the Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers Take JuJu Smith-Schuster 62nd Overall
Background
Smith-Schuster started 12 games as a freshman at USC and racked up 724 yards and five touchdowns. In his sophomore season, he continued to play with future Cleveland Browns quarterback Cody Kessler and exploded with 89 receptions for 1,454 yards and ten touchdowns. Smith-Schuster also broke his hand in 2015, but didn’t miss any action. In his junior season, Smith-Schuster caught 70 passes for 914 yards and ten touchdowns.
At the NFL combine, Smith-Schuster ran the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds and recorded a 32.5-inch vertical leap. Smith-Schuster has decent size for a wide receiver at 6 feet and one inch tall and weighing 215 pounds. He’s known for his physical play and ability to go up and get the ball against tight coverage from defensive backs. Considered more of a possession receiver, Smith-Schuster isn’t known for his breakaway speed, but he’s got strong hands and isn’t afraid to run across the middle of the field.
How He Fits
Smith-Schuster will be a nice addition to an offense that is already overflowing with weapons. He’ll join Antonio Brown, Sammie Coates, Eli Rogers, Darrius Heyward-Bey, newly reinstated Martavis Bryant, and newly added Justin Hunter. The Steelers also have Cobi Hamilton and Demarcus Ayers, who both received some playing time last season. Hamilton even started a game late in the season when the team was plagued by injuries.
Brown is obviously the main weapon and Bryant is the home-run threat. The addition of Smith-Schuster makes the wide receiver corps extremely dangerous. The Steelers offense will now likely feature Bryant and Coates on the outsides, with Brown, Rogers and Smith-Schuster all playing in the slot. It’s hard to imagine how all the Steelers wide receivers will be able to fit on the field, but having too many good players at a certain position is not a bad problem to have.
Strengths
Smith-Schuster is a vertical threat with good hands and great concentration. He high-points the ball very well and is physical and tough in traffic. He uses his physical frame to shield defenders from being able to knock away the ball and catches the ball away from his body. He’s not afraid to run routes over the middle of the field and comes back to the quarterback. While not known for his speed, he’s still a play-maker and finds ways to get to the end-zone. He’s also a solid run-blocker and can seal the edge for Le’Veon Bell.
Needs to Improve
Smith-Schuster needs to work on exploding out of his routes and accelerating at the snap of the ball. He doesn’t seem to shake defenders with his route-running that often and tends to rely on his focus and catching ability. He also tends to decelerate sometimes when the ball is in the air instead of maintaining his speed. He may struggle against press coverage because of his lack of acceleration and quickness. Something to take into account from his college statistics is that he scored eight of his ten touchdowns last season in only three games, which shows that he can be inconsistent but explosive at times.
Final Grade: B-
Smith-Schuster has the potential to put up huge numbers in the Steelers offense, but the team had needs at other positions that seemed to be more important. The Steelers secondary needs help still and even though the team drafted T.J. Watt on Thursday night, they could still use more help at the linebacker position as well.
As far as value goes, Smith-Schuster is a great pick for being taken 62nd overall. Some analysts even had him going in the first round. He’ll definitely make an immediate impact on the Steelers offense and Ben Roethlisberger will love having a receiver that can go get the ball no matter how many defenders are on him and no matter where the ball is thrown.
All in all, Smith-Schuster should fit in well as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team may have had some needs at other positions besides wide receiver, but Smith-Schuster has the talent and potential to be a starter right away and perhaps a Pro Bowler in the future.
Main Photo:
