Despite unproductive 2019, does Steelers WR corps have promise?

In illustrating how unproductive the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers corps was by modern NFL standards, consider that their top three combined for statistics that were roughly equivalent to Michael Thomas alone.

• The New Orleans Saints’ Thomas during his record-setting 2019: 148 catches, 1,725 receiving yards, nine touchdowns.

• The Steelers’ starting threesome of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington: 145 catches, 1,967 yards, 11 touchdowns.

Thomas averaged 107.9 yards and 9.1 catches per game; meanwhile, not once did a Steelers wide receiver catch as many as nine passes in a game, and just once did any match or surpass 107 yards in a game (Washington, 111 vs. Cleveland, Dec. 1).

For good measure, the 11 touchdowns that the Steelers top trio managed was matched by the NFL leader in that category, the Detroit Lions’ Kenny Golladay.

In other words, while there were plenty of justifications and extenuating circumstances relating to it, that doesn’t hide that 2019 was far from a memorable season for the Steelers’ wide receivers.

“We weren’t connecting on those third downs that we need (nor) just making those big splash plays,” Johnson said. “It’s football, stuff like that is going to happen. We have to come back ready next year.”

There are plenty of simple reasons to believe that next season will be far more productive for the Steelers. Start with better health from Smith-Schuster, the unit’s leader who missed four full games and parts of two others because of injury and – despite his assurances after the season finale that he was “fine” – was not at 100% the final two games when he did come back.

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s first game in more than a month was unproductive and left him in tears. He said his second game back from an injury layoff won’t be a repeat.https://t.co/uWsx8CGjXE

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) December 27, 2019

Another straightforward reason to believe 2020 won’t be a repeat for the group of Smith-Schuster, Johnson and Washington is that all three are just 23 years old. They came into the season with a combined 42 games of NFL experience and more than doubled that with a combined 43 games this in 2019.

“The receiving room, we are young across the board,” said Washington, who completed his second NFL season. “With JuJu being our leader, we just lacked a little experience.”

Though he is the youngest of the Steelers’ primary receivers, Smith-Schuster entered the league in 2017 and is the elder statesman in regards to NFL experience (three seasons, 42 games, 211 catches). As its leader, Smith-Schuster publicly has the back of a three-WR group that has shown potential in spurts.

“I think our receiving group did well,” he said, before acknowledging, “but there is always room to improve.”

The group also won’t have to deal with the death of its position coach less than month before the season begins, a development that took its toll emotionally as well as via a lack of continuity in their work. In the coming weeks, the Steelers are expected to hire a new receivers coach who will replace interim veteran coach Ray Sherman, and the Steelers at the position will have an entire offseason to work with him.

The pending return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, of course, will undoubtedly help the receivers – assuming Roethlisberger’s health at 38 following elbow surgery, at least.

Column from @KGorman_Trib | Diontae Johnson provided the playmaking the #Steelers desperately need, especially with JuJu Smith-Schuster out with a knee injury.https://t.co/LbOqz7MGv9

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) December 9, 2019

Add it up, and a case can be made that the Steelers have all the pieces for, at worst, a league-average WR corps, and at best, a pretty good one. After all, Smith-Schuster has a 111-catch, 1,426-yard season (2018) on his résumé already; Johnson passes the “eye test” as a special talent, and his production over the final four weeks of the season (23 catches, 257 yards, two touchdowns) equates to starting-caliber; and only 10 wide receivers in the NFL had more catches of 40-plus yards than Washington (four).

“In terms of production in terms of the receiver position, a lot of those things are defined by variables that, at times, are out of your control,” coach Mike Tomlin said in reference to the 2019 receivers statistics. “We are not going to worry too much about that. It was what it was.”

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