With Antonio Brown out west, JuJu Smith-Schuster is the unquestioned No. 1 receiver in Pittsburgh.
But the Steelers still need to figure out who Ben Roethlisberger’s second choice will be.
Donte Moncrief, Ryan Switzer, Eli Rogers and newcomer Diontae Johnson should see focus from Big Ben, but according to Smith-Schuster, second-year receiver James Washington will be Pittsburgh’s breakout pass-catcher in 2019.
“But you speak about a young dude who is up and coming, it’s likely to become James Washington,” Smith Schuster told ESPN. “A guy from Oklahoma State, came to the Steelers his rookie year, started off slow but figured it out and got down the ropes.
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“This past summer workouts that we had, he has been performing amazing, a fantastic job. I’m super excited to see how he does this year. He is our man that’s going to creep up on everyone.”
Washington started six games in his rookie year, behind Brown, Smith-Schuster and Switzer, and caught 16 balls on 38 targets for 217 yards and a touchdown. His 42.1 catch percentage was the smallest on the group among ability players with at least 14 targets.
Washington should observe an increase in playtime in 2019 from last year’s 526 snaps (47.1 percent), and the recipient is readying himself for an larger workload. Washington told The Athletic during offseason workouts he fell 15 pounds to 210 in preparation for the approaching campaign.
The receiver confessed he was”burned out” in his rookie year during which he saw his snap count his quarterback criticize him on radio. That has supported Washington to prepare for the forthcoming training camp of Pittsburgh.
“I am only trying to come in more positive,” Washington told The Atheltic’s Mark Kaboly in May. “It was not that I played confidence this past year, but I needed to come in with that sense of urgency that I felt like I lacked just a little last year.”
Count Smith-Schuster among the teammates who have noticed.
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