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In a stunning transfer, JuJu Smith-Schuster re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the course of the offseason. His return looks like an simple win for the Pittsburgh offense, however you would possibly surprise how a lot he actually did for them final season. In any case, he ranked behind each Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool in receiving yards. Nonetheless, the superior metrics point out that Smith-Schuster was really probably the most worthwhile of the Steelers’ broad receivers in 2020.
All three of the Steelers’ broad receivers had wonderful seasons
In 2020, Smith-Schuster, Johnson, and Claypool every performed important roles within the Steelers’ offense. As you possibly can see within the chart beneath, their field scores have been extraordinarily related.
Receiving Yards | Receiving Touchdowns | |
Diontae Johnson | 923 | 7 |
Chase Claypool | 873 | 9 |
JuJu Smith-Schuster | 831 | 9 |
Mixed | 2,627 | 25 |
Whereas none of them fairly reached 1,000 yards, mixed they accounted for almost half of the workforce’s complete offensive yards and greater than half of the overall touchdowns. In fact, the offense wouldn’t have functioned with out them.
Nonetheless, given Smith-Schuster’s popularity, you would possibly query why he was the least profitable of the three. Simply two years in the past — in his final full season — he led the workforce with 1,426 receiving yards. And that was with Antonio Brown on the roster. Subsequently, it’s considerably unusual that Smith-Schuster couldn’t outperform two less-experienced gamers.
Nonetheless, the superior metrics reveal that Smith-Schuster, regardless of a barely worse field rating, was extra impactful than both of his teammates.
The superior metrics rank JuJu Smith-Schuster because the Steelers’ most dear participant final season
Smith-Schuster won’t have had the field rating that some might need been anticipating from him in 2020, however that doesn’t imply he wasn’t acting at a excessive degree. To show simply how a lot he was price to the Pittsburgh offense final season, let’s flip to the Offensive Value Metric (OVM). The OVM is a grading system created by the (Bx) Motion to guage gamers based mostly on how a lot they influenced their very own statistics.
Of the three broad receivers, Smith-Schuster had the very best grade at 34.67, in comparison with 32.38 and 28.39 for Johnson and Claypool, respectively. These numbers might sound shut, however the distinction is bigger than you suppose. When in comparison with all different qualifying broad receivers final season, Smith-Schuster’s grade ranks 14th, whereas Johnson and Claypool ranked thirty seventh and 74th.
That could be a important drop-off. One which signifies that, regardless of being outgained by his teammates, Smith-Schuster had a extra substantial affect on his statistics than both of them. To place it one other method, whereas Johnson and Claypool have been extra productive, Smith-Schuster contributed to the next proportion of the statistics he produced.
Evaluating the weekly grades of the three Steelers’ broad receivers
For a extra correct comparability of Smith-Schuster, Johnson, and Claypool, let’s have a look at how they carried out throughout every week of the common season. The charts beneath present their weekly grades, represented by the black dots. For comparability, the regular-season common OVM grade for broad receivers in 2020 is marked by the yellow line.
Curiously, all three broad receivers have been remarkably constant. It’s not unusual to see gamers who, no matter their general efficiency, had weeks that signify important outliers or whose grades tended to range dramatically from week to week. Pittsburgh’s receivers, however, had grades largely in a straight line. Smith-Schuster was really the least constant of the three, however his grades have been typically increased than the others, explaining his higher general grade.
Inspecting the superior metrics behind JuJu Smith-Schuster’s OVM grade
To clarify why Smith-Schuster was more practical than his two extra statistically profitable teammates, we have to take a look at the superior metrics concerned in calculating a large receiver’s grade.
For probably the most half, the three Steelers’ broad receivers had roughly related statistics. Johnson and Claypool even outdid Smith-Schuster in a number of areas. The truth is, Claypool dramatically outperformed Smith-Schuster after the catch. Nonetheless, there was one class during which Smith-Schuster bested his fellow Steelers’ broad receivers and by a substantial margin — his catch proportion.
In 2020, Smith-Schuster caught 75.78% of his targets, which ranked eighth amongst all qualifying broad receivers. In the meantime, Johnson caught a below-average 61.11% of his targets, and Claypool got here in even additional behind, at simply 56.88%.
In some circumstances, different components would possibly overshadow minor variations in catch proportion. On this case, nevertheless, Smith-Schuster outperformed Johnson and Claypool by such a dramatic quantity that it single-handedly boosted his general OVM grade far above theirs.
Merely put, whereas there are lots of components that go into making an elite broad receiver, if they will’t catch the ball, nothing else actually issues. And Smith-Schuster caught the ball way more constantly than both of his teammates.
Smith-Schuster can be a significant a part of a harmful Pittsburgh passing assault subsequent season
The emergence of Johnson and Claypool as high-tier broad receivers is a wonderful growth, each for their very own careers and for the Steelers on the whole. Nonetheless, we mustn’t enable their excellence to overshadow Smith-Schuster’s abilities. He would possibly find yourself being outgained by considered one of his less-experienced teammates subsequent season — and even each — however his contributions to the offense can’t be undervalued.
Regardless of decrease manufacturing final season, he remained a superb participant. And if Pittsburgh goes to reach the 2021 playoffs the place they failed a season in the past, Smith-Schuster can be a crucial part in that success.
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Lucas Ellinas is a author for Professional Soccer Community. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @Lucas_Ellinas.
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