All 90 is a Pittsburgh Steelers Now series profiling each of the 90 members of the Steelers 2021 offseason roster.
19 • JuJu Smith-Schuster, fifth-year wide receiver
6-foot-1, 215 pounds
Acquired: Drafted by the Steelers with the No. 62 overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Last season: Smith-Schuster had a solid bounce-back season after a tough 2019. He played in all 16 games for the Steelers and finished second on the team with 831 receiving yards on 97 catches. He also scored a career-high nine touchdowns.
Career: Smith-Schuster burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2017 with 917 yards and seven touchdowns on just 79 targets, fitting in alongside Antonio Brown as a complimentary threat.
He took that one step further in 2018, putting up his best season as a pro with 1,426 yards on 111 catches and eight total touchdowns while being selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time.
In 2019, without Brown, Smith-Schuster was expected to step up into an even more prominent role in the offense, but he was limited by a series of injuries and injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph limited the Steelers’ passing game overall.
College: Smith-Schuster started in all 40 games of his collegiate career at USC. His best season was as a sophomore in 2015, when he caught 89 passes for 1,454 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was a two-time All-Pac 12 selection.
Camp outlook: Smith-Schuster will once again be the leader of the Steelers’ wide receiver corps, and has said he’d like to play outside more often this season after establishing himself as one of the top slot receivers in football over the first four seasons of his career.
That may happen with new offensive coordinator Matt Canada pulling the strings. Canada has said he wants all of his receivers to be able to play anywhere on the field to increase the versatility of the offense.
Future: Smith-Schuster signed a new contract with the Steelers this spring that will automatically void after the 2021 season, making him a free agent once again.
The rest of the 90:
