[ad_1]
The Steelers have 4 younger receivers who could possibly be a giant a part of the offense in 2021, however right here’s why James Washington deserves a a lot greater function this 12 months.
When speaking in regards to the extensive receivers on the Pittsburgh Steelers and the potential impression they may have on the staff subsequent 12 months, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, and Chase Claypool are the names which can be usually introduced up in dialog (I’ve skilled this primary hand). However what about James Washington?
It wasn’t all that way back that the soccer world was excessive on Washington. Coming into the draft as a former second-round select of Oklahoma State, Washington was one of the crucial productive receivers now we have seen in school soccer in fairly a while. The truth is, Washington accounted for 25.7 % of his staff’s market share and had a outstanding breakout age at simply 18.4 years previous (97th percentile), according to PlayerProfiler.com.
Sadly, Washington struggled throughout his rookie season, and couldn’t get on the identical web page with Ben Roethlisberger when he was given the chance in 2018. Due to his sluggish begin within the NFL, I believe followers are too quickly to neglect a few very strong offensive weapon.
Why Washington deserves extra alternative on the Steelers
On paper, Washington doesn’t have any defining traits. He has very common dimension for the place and examined as a median athlete on the NFL Mix. Nevertheless, what he excels at can’t be measured. The younger receiver has terrific arms in site visitors and the flexibility to trace down the ball with the very best of them. The significance of those traits can’t be understated.
It was thanks to those traits that Washington turned arguably probably the most dependable pass-catching choice on the staff in 2019 when Ben Roethlisberger went down with an elbow damage. Regardless of low goal high quality, he managed to guide the staff in receiving yards and sometimes bailed his younger quarterbacks (Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges) out of hassle.
With Chase Claypool becoming a member of the staff as a second-round choose final 12 months, the Steelers reverted again to utilizing Washington in a restricted style. He ranked simply 117th amongst NFL receivers in goal fee final season, in keeping with PlayerProfiler.com.
Regardless of being simply 99th within the NFL in catchable goal fee, Washington chipped in practically 400 yards and 5 touchdowns whereas averaging over 13.0 yards per reception, via Pro Football Reference. The truth is, he averaged extra yards each earlier than and after the catch than JuJu Smith Schuster final season and showcased the flexibility to maneuver with the ball in his arms.
Most significantly, Washington was maybe probably the most dependable receiver on the staff in large moments final 12 months, and he confirmed up large on the third downs (and even 4th downs) when given the chance.
Pittsburgh’s high three receivers mixed to common 127 targets every final season. Washington had simply 56. I’m not but suggesting that he ought to leapfrog any of the receivers forward of him on Steelers depth chart, however there’s little question he needs to be given extra alternatives within the passing recreation.
[ad_2]
Source link
