Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster seems content with winning without producing
Last season, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had his worst year as a pro. His 42-reception, 552-yard season was largely dismissed due to abysmal quarterback play.
But this season something else is at work. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is back and the offense is humming. And this is the problem. If anything there is too many targets and the balance on offense is hurting some players. And by some players we mean Smith-Schuster.
Nevertheless, Smith-Schuster seems to be taking it all in stride. According to an article on ESPN, Smith-Schuster is just happy the team is undefeated and he can be there for his teammates when it comes to celebrations.
People were talking about ‘He only got me two points this week for fantasy.’ I was like, ‘Well, I mean, I’d rather have two points and be 5-0 than to be 1-4 and to have 25 fantasy points,” Smith-Schuster said. “So for me, I like it for myself, so I’m always having fun regardless.
It is great to see Smith-Schuster being so selfless this season. The emergence of rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool has become an interesting problem to have to the Steelers. However, it is the newfound commitment to the run game which is really cutting into catches for all the Steelers receivers.
For the good of this season, it is tremendous to see the Steelers offense being so diverse. For Smith-Schuster though, if he has an eye to the future he has to know his lack of production will hurt the value of his next contract. This could help the Steelers get him re-signed when salary-cap space is going to be tight.
The real question is when the Steelers do inevitably call on Smith-Schuster to be more than a hype man or a decoy, will he deliver?
