Decade after ‘Young money crew,’ do Steelers have WR corps that trumps it?

With the Pittsburgh Steelers on their way to a 12-4 season in 2011, their leading receiver famously let the media in on the nickname the corps had dubbed itself.

“The Young Money Crew” included Mike “Fast Money” Wallace, Emmanuel “Easy Money” Sanders, Antonio “Cash Money” Brown and Hines “Old Money” Ward. They even threw quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a bone via a “Big Money” moniker.

The Steelers’ 2020 wide receiver group doesn’t have a catchy nickname. But it might have a collection of receivers that is just as imposing.

Heading into Monday’s game against the Washington Football Team, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and James Washington have combined for 23 touchdowns through 11 games this season. The foursome has an aggregate of 191 catches and 2,029 receiving yards.

It’s a different era with a different offense, plus Sanders was limited by injury in 2011. But current Steelers receivers’ numbers compare to what Wallace/Brown/Ward/Sanders did nine years ago in 16 games: 209 catches, 2,970 yards and 14 touchdowns.

“Their youthfulness because this group is the same, very young, very talented,” said offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner — clearly not including the then-35-year-old Ward in that group — in comparing the 2011 and ‘20 Steelers wide receivers.

Though Ward was at the end of his career, he was a four-time Pro Bowl honoree before that. Brown made it to seven Pro Bowls and was four times an All Pro. Sanders was twice named a Pro Bowler, Wallace once.

In 2011, Brown was 23, Sanders 24 and Wallace 25, the Steelers receivers of today range in age from 22-24. Smith-Schuster already has one Pro Bowl nod. Can the current group achieve the same notoriety of their predecessors?

“This group is still writing its story,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “I don’t think it’s fair to compare. I work hard not to, to be quite honest with you. You’re talking about some guys you’re comparing them to that have a complete professional body of work like Mike Wallace or guys that have been in it over a decade like Antonio and Emmanuel. This group is still very much in development.

“They have that type of talent, collective and individual talent that makes those considerations exciting. It’s all about the making of the plays and the making of plays in a very consistent way over a long period of time like that other group that you mentioned.”

JuJu Smith-Schuster grew up fast as a player, becoming a Pro Bowler in his second season. But the maturing of his game has continued and is far more nuanced than his production illustrates.https://t.co/u1tQ3E6Xw1

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 29, 2020

One significant way the 2020 Steelers WRs have trumped the ‘11 version is in scoring. Entering Week 13, their 23 combined touchdowns were tied with the Seattle Seahawks for the league lead among wide receiver groups.

Claypool had 10 in his first 10 career games. Among the 46 combined individual NFL seasons by Ward, Brown, Sanders and Wallace, in only five did any score more than 10 touchdowns (Brown three times, Ward twice).

It's a long list of WR gems the Steelers have hit on:

Mike Wallace
Antonio Brown
Emmanuel Sanders
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Chase Claypool @CoachTomlin shared a secret behind the success

Full episode here https://t.co/qLXqlz7PKC pic.twitter.com/bldnChazzf

— Bryant McFadden (@BMac_SportsTalk) October 13, 2020

Roethlisberger joins Fichtner and Tomlin as the lone common links between the two talented WR groups. He said what makes the 2020 wide receivers so good is it isn’t just a strong pair of starters, a stellar trio or even four players he can count on. In the group Roethlisberger also includes Ray-Ray McCloud, who since becoming part of the offense in Week 4 has 19 touches for 143 yards in eight games.

“We’ve got five guys that can get on the field at any time and really kind of fill in for each other,” Roethlisberger said. “They can all play each other’s spots, which I think is one of the most special things about the group. Literally you can plug each guy into each position and each role and each route.

“We do a lot of that in the no-huddle when we are kind of moving guys around. They don’t blink. They don’t second guess. They don’t question. When I tell them, ‘Hey, let’s do this or let’s do that,’ or when I call things, they just line up and do it. I think when you talk about this group, the collectiveness of all five of them is what makes them so special.”

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