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After a down 2019 season marred by poor quarterback play and his personal accidents, JuJu Smith-Schuster regarded to return into the 2020 season with a robust begin. He would just do that in Week 1 in opposition to the New York Giants. Now the query that lingers is that if he can maintain any such efficiency in fantasy football over the course of the season. We’ll take a deeper dive.
JuJu Smith-Schuster had a disappointing 2019 fantasy season
In his first season with out Antonio Brown as his partner-in-crime on the sphere, expectations have been excessive for Smith-Schuster to ascend into the echelon of nice large receivers within the league. We have been capable of see an excellent glimpse of his potential in 2018 when he had 111 receptions, 1,426 yards, and 7 receiving touchdowns. His Consistency Score in 2018 was 7.82, good for ninth amongst all large receivers whereas he had the fourth-highest expected fantasy points (296.9) whole amongst large receivers as nicely.
Coming into 2019, Brown had been traded and Smith-Schuster was anticipated to take over because the clear-cut primary WR for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sadly, between quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s early season-ending elbow damage and Smith-Schuster’s personal points with accidents, that by no means got here to fruition.
Earlier than Roethlisberger went down for the season with an damage, Smith-Schuster was off to a different sturdy begin in 2019. Over the primary two weeks of the season, JuJu had at the very least 5 receptions and 78 receiving yards. After that, he started to see a dip in his numbers. To make issues worse, Smith-Schuster handled a mixture of accidents that compelled him to overlook 4 video games final season and restricted him all through the season.
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A key consider Smith-Schuster’s disappointing 2019 fantasy season was the clear downgrade in quarterback play as soon as Roethlisberger went out. The mix of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges underneath middle offered a few of the worst QB play in the complete league final season. Within the 14 video games that Hodges/Rudolph began at QB, they mixed for two,828 passing yards (202 yards per sport) and 18 passing touchdowns to 17 interceptions. Compared, Roethlisberger threw for five,129 yards (320 yards per sport), 34 touchdowns, and 16 touchdowns in 2018.
Smith-Schuster completed third on the Steelers in receptions (42) and receiving yards (552) behind James Washington and Diontae Johnson. He additionally had a consistency rating of two.49, which was 57th amongst large receivers. His anticipated fantasy level whole was 113.2, good for 51st.
With Roethlisberger again underneath middle, expectations for a bounce-back season for the Steelers offense are excessive. Not solely was Smith-Schuster joined by Johnson and Washington as the first large receivers in 2020, however the workforce additionally drafted Chase Claypool within the second spherical of the 2020 NFL Draft. So whereas issues have been trying up for Smith-Schuster, he nonetheless had a combat forward of him for his share of snaps and targets as nicely.
JuJu Smith-Schuster had a robust Week 1 fantasy efficiency
The season opener for the Steelers offered them with a terrific “get-right” spot in opposition to the Giants, who possess one of many worst defenses within the league. Whereas it could not have been an “offensive explosion” with a rating of 26-16 on Monday night time, the Steelers got here out victorious and already confirmed a big distinction in efficiency on offense.
Extra importantly, Roethlisberger appeared to be again to his 2018 kind regardless of this being his age-38 season and coming off main surgical procedure to his throwing elbow. Roethlisberger threw for 229 yards, three touchdowns, and nil interceptions. Two of these landing passes have been to Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster completed the night time with six receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns. He caught all six of his targets, which was second-most on the Steelers. Not solely did Roethlisberger look wholesome, however so did Smith-Schuster. Regardless of the elevated competitors for targets with Washington, Johnson, Claypool, and even new tight Eric Ebron, it was clear that Smith-Schuster continues to be one in every of Roethlisberger’s go-to targets within the passing sport.
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Whereas the entire different large receivers characterize their very own strengths and weaknesses, Smith-Schuster has flashed elite-level expertise up to now and is barely 23 years outdated. His ceiling is as excessive as a few of the greatest large receivers within the league, and we have been reminded of that this previous Monday night time. That was very true within the red-zone, the place he was capable of convert each of his targets into touchdowns. On prime of that, Smith-Schuster had the third-highest fantasy point differential amongst large receivers in Week 1 (142%).
Plus, with the damage to working again James Conner, the Steelers might must depend on their passing sport much more transferring ahead. This wouldn’t be new for the workforce as they led the league with a 66.6/33.4 move to run ratio in 2018, which was the best within the league.
Roethlisberger solely had three video games in 2018 the place he threw lower than 32 passing makes an attempt whereas having 9 video games with at the very least 40 makes an attempt. It’s honest to say that Roethlisberger will not be anticipated to try 675 passes in 2020 as he did in 2018. Nonetheless, if he can proceed to indicate that he’s totally healed from his elbow damage, it could not be shocking to see him throw rather a lot. This goes in thoughts with the truth that they’ll face harder competitors all through the season.
Can he stick with it all through the season?
As talked about above, we are able to count on to see Pittsburgh throw the ball extra as they face harder competitors because the season progresses. With that comes extra targets in the direction of Smith-Schuster, who noticed the fourth-most targets (171) within the league again in 2018. That was additionally with Brown nonetheless on the Steelers, who completed with the fifth-most targets that yr (165). Now that Roethlisberger is again and wholesome, Smith-Schuster will nonetheless contend for targets however underneath the very clear expectation that he’s the workforce’s primary large receiver.
Johnson noticed 10 targets in Week 1, which led all Steelers gamers. He’s anticipated to be Smith-Schuster’s largest competitor for targets. Even when that’s the case, Johnson is nowhere close to the extent of expertise that Brown was. He shouldn’t be anticipated to see double-digit targets each week. Smith-Schuster, then again, can count on his goal ranges to extend after seeing double-digit targets in 10 of 16 video games in 2018.
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The Steelers have some powerful matchups arising in opposition to the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore Ravens, in 4 of their subsequent 5 video games. Every of those opponents characterize a unique mixture of potential high-scoring offenses and robust defenses/secondaries. With these kind of opponents although, it ought to drive the Steelers in the direction of extra of a passing game-script. These kind of video games will solely profit Smith-Schuster’s trigger as we progress by means of the season.
Is Smith-Schuster anticipated to have two touchdowns receptions each week? No, however he can completely be a weekly double-digit goal menace. He’ll even have the luxurious of different gifted large receivers taking consideration away from him and keep away from fixed double-teams/consideration from opposing safeties as typically.
He’ll stay one of many workforce’s prime red-zone targets as nicely. If this previous Monday’s efficiency is any indication of how they’ll do, Pittsburgh seems to be primed to as soon as once more be a well-oiled machine on offense and within the passing sport. Smith-Schuster additionally seems to be to be the one main the cost for the workforce this time round. He’s able to nice issues, and he seems to be nicely on his approach to reaching them and extra.
Doug Moore is a fantasy soccer author for Professional Soccer Community. Observe him on Twitter at @DMooreNFL.
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