Now Healthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster Expects To Play Outside More, ‘Showing People That I Could Be A No. 1’

The JuJu Smith-Schuster who was popping out of the 2018 season was on high of the world. A dominant younger broad receiver for a flagship franchise, he may do no improper in entrance of the followers. Two years later, issues look fairly completely different, for a lot of causes, and steadily, these causes range from particular person to particular person.

Why was that? Was it as a result of Antonio Brown wasn’t on the opposite aspect of the sphere? Was it as a result of Ben Roethlisberger merely can’t throw the ball round anymore? Maybe it was due to his well being, notably over his knee? He appeared to allude to the latter throughout an interview with Michael Irvin yesterday, and indicated that he expects his position to vary in 2021.

“What people really didn’t get to see a lot is—later in my career, because I dealt with injuries, I played mainly slot, and coming back and playing outside more this year, and showing people that I could be a number one, and having Ben back healthy, me being back healthy, and just having the team that we have”, he instructed the Corridor of Fame broad receiver.

Since his breakout season with 111 catches for 1426 yards and 7 touchdowns, Smith-Schuster hasn’t even cracked 900 yards, although he did catch 97 passes and a career-high 9 touchdowns final yr. However no person would mistake him for the dynamic participant of 2018.

And I’ve little doubt that the explanations are a number of. However I’m additionally unsure I actually see Smith-Schuster spending much more time taking part in on the skin, just because that’s the place it is smart relative to the remainder of the offense for him to play.

Might it’s that the Steelers instructed him one thing completely different this offseason, indicating that he’ll see extra time on the skin and higher alternatives to make performs, reasonably than the possession-receiver form of work that he did a yr in the past?

Smith-Schuster is, in spite of everything, rebuilding his resume. He absolutely intends to money in subsequent offseason when the wage cap snaps again into one thing resembling normality, taking a one-year, $8 million contract this yr with the Steelers, seeing it as his finest alternative to re-establish himself.

One wonders if that was one of many workforce’s promoting factors to him in getting him to return. One additionally wonders if, as studies indicated, there actually was extra to Smith-Schuster’s knee final season than we knew on the time, and that it affected the best way by which the coaches managed him and his position throughout the offense. That’s pure conjecture on my half, I hasten so as to add, nevertheless it does make me marvel.

I put on it on my wrist daily, it’s from my coach. It just about simply says shut out the noise, and that’s simply how I really feel. But when I’ve to go on the market and show folks improper, it simply places extra gas to my fireplace to go on the market and simply go on the market and dominate and be that man.