JuJu Smith-Schuster enjoying Steelers' success at the expense of individual glory

Smith-Schuster was a fantasy football darling in 2018 when led the Steelers with 111 receptions and 1,426 yards while also tying his career high with seven touchdown catches. The Steelers, though, missed the playoffs.

In 2019, his first without Antonio Brown drawing double coverage, Smith-Schuster struggled as the top target, particularly after Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the year after playing just six quarters. Smith-Schuster also had difficulty staying healthy, sustaining a concussion and knee injury that limited him to 12 games.

His numbers dropped to 42 receptions for 552 yards and three scores. And, again, the Steelers didn’t reach the postseason.

Smith-Schuster rebounded nicely in the season opener this year, catching six passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns against the New York Giants. He followed it by catching seven passes, albeit for 48 yards, against the Denver Broncos.

In the past three games, however, he has totaled 10 catches for 77 yards and one touchdown. For the season, he has 23 catches for 194 yards and three scores.

Smith-Schuster maintains his enthusiasm hasn’t waned while Chase Claypool, James Washington and Diontae Johnson have taken turns in the spotlight.

“I’m having fun all the time whether I get the ball or not,” he said. “Whether it’s two catches for 10 yards or six catches for 60 yards, it’s more for the team and the atmosphere.”

Based on the touchdown celebrations he choreographed in the Steelers’ 38-7 victory against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Smith-Schuster didn’t seem to be bothered by catching a season-low two passes for six yards while Claypool and Washington combined for eight catches, 142 yards and a touchdown.

“Football is the ultimate team game, and JuJu is a quality example of that,” Roethlisberger said. “We have a lot of guys that are quality examples of that. We shouldn’t let a few outliers globally in terms of guys that are not good team players or the reporting of such events capture the headlines.

“Largely, we have a lot of guys that are quality team players. They play and play to win.”

The Steelers are winning without that singular threat the defined the years when Brown was on the roster. Smith-Schuster’s modest 23 receptions tops a group that includes five other players with at least a dozen catches. Five players have exceeded 100 yards receiving for the season, led by Claypool’s 335. Five players have caught touchdown passes.

Johnson is expected to return from a back injury that kept him out against Cleveland. That would give the Steelers four healthy receivers and perhaps lessen Smith-Schuster’s targets against the 5-0 Tennessee Titans.

“You never know when it’s going to be your time,” Smith-Schuster said. “We know every week we have guys who are ready to go.”

With Claypool providing another threat on the outside, Smith-Schuster has taken a career-high 73% of his snaps from the slot. It is the third year in a row that his playing time in the slot has increased, from 51% as a rookie to 63% in 2019.

While others are getting the deep routes, Smith-Schuster is doing the dirty work across the middle, a reason he is averaging 8.4 yards per catch, the fewest in his career by four yards.

“Having JuJu in the slot enables the outside guys to do things,” Claypool said. “This past game was an example of what having weapons across the field looks like. I was expecting to get doubled at some point in the game with the safety over the top. I didn’t really see that because JuJu was on the other side of the field for a lot of those plays.”