Youthful enthusiasm masks JuJu Smith-Schuster’s maturation as receiver for Steelers

Everyone saw JuJu Smith-Schuster blow out the “candle” — a football — after the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers receiving corps sang “Happy Birthday” to him following the first touchdown of last week’s game in Jacksonville.

It was classic JuJu, complete with a set of effervescent celebratory hops — the same way someone half his age might act during a birthday.

Smith-Schuster turned 24 that day, which is difficult to believe considering he is close to finishing his fourth NFL season, and each of the three Steelers draft classes after Smith-Schuster’s class included a player older than him.

When he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2017, Smith-Schuster was, in a manner of speaking, just a kid. After all, he wasn’t able to purchase alcohol legally for more than six months after he signed his first contract. He had no driver’s license. He commuted via bicycle.

The Steelers sang happy birthday to JuJu ??

(via @steelers) pic.twitter.com/1FHk3d5V9K

— ESPN (@espn) November 22, 2020

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.

“He’s a guy that I can line up anywhere,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said, “and he knows what to do. What you see from him in terms of his demeanor, his attitude when the ball is in his hand is determination. It’s unbelievable.”

A day after Smith-Schuster’s 24th birthday, coach Mike Tomlin referred to him as “the grizzly veteran of the (wide receivers) group.” That is true of what is the youngest unit on the team. But Smith-Schuster’s “veteran” bona fides are exhibited through more quantitative ways than his age, veteran status or even traditional statistics:

• Concentration/focus? How about a dropped-pass rate (one in 73 targets) that is bettered by only eight receivers in the league. Or a fumble rate (0% of 58 touches) that cannot be topped.

• Clutch ability? Only three NFL players have more third-down catches for first downs than Smith-Schuster (13). More than 58% of Smith-Schuster’s catches (34 of 58) have attained a first down or a touchdown.

Including a two-point conversion, 20 of Smith-Schuster’s catches this season (34%) have come during drives that were consummated during the fourth quarter.

• Consistency? Smith-Schuster ranks 14th among 113 qualifying receivers in percentage of targets caught (79.5%), and he has caught at least two-thirds of all balls thrown his way during each game this season.

“I wouldn’t want to play many games without JuJu,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. “He’s the heart and soul of the (receiving) group. I said the same thing about Hines (Ward) years ago. He’s just tough. He does all of those things.”

Smith-Schuster’s physicality is difficult to quantify, but it shows on a weekly basis in blocking, during “combat catches” and in breaking tackles.

“He likes the physicalness,” Fichtner said. “We need that. The rest of the group needs to continue to feed off of that as well. Young guys like Chase (Claypool) and Diontae (Johnson) and James (Washington), they feed off of that.”

Perhaps no other aspect of Smith-Schuster’s game better encapsulates his skill set than on third downs. Roethlisberger repeatedly talks about the “trust” he has in his most senior receiver during those moments.

“I think of it as, ‘Third down gets your paid,’ ” Smith-Schuster said. “When it’s third-and-long, third-and-10, third-and-5, I love and embrace those moments. I am hoping the ball comes my way.”

“I’m happy being 5-0,” JuJu Smith-Schuster said Tuesday. “People tell me you only got me two points this week in fantasy. I’d rather have two points and be 5-0 than be 1-5 and have 25 fantasy points.” https://t.co/qXA6mGQBYr

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 21, 2020

But with unrestricted free agency scheduled to beckon in a few months, the Steelers have to ask themselves if Smith-Schuster should get paid like a No. 1 receiver.

Players who have 265 catches, 3,411 yards and 22 touchdowns before their 24th birthday and hit the open market get paid like No. 1 receivers. And with Smith-Schuster entering Week 12 ranked among the top 32 wide receivers in catches (13th with 58), yards (32nd, 535) and touchdowns (tied for 14th, 5), the numbers say he is a No. 1 receiver.

Then again, the Steelers have drafted a receiver with one of their first two picks in each of the past three drafts. With Johnson and Claypool looking like WR1 material, it might be difficult for the Steelers to justify opening the vault for Smith-Schuster.

That doesn’t mean the franchise quarterback won’t advocate for it.

“When you’ve got a guy,” Roethlisberger said, “when push comes to shove, when the rubber meets the road — all the different slangs you want to use — when you have a guy like JuJu that I know and trust in, it makes you feel pretty comfortable.”

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