2019 Steelers by position: WR. Are we better off?

[Oh wow]

you started your post by making reference to Vance McDonald. Just sayin.. if you want to participate in our discussion.. thats fine.. i had a right to ask you about conner.. since you mentioned a TE..and since our discussion was broader than WR.

True. However, TE’s mostly catch the ball when they posses it.

You are correct tho, TE isn’t WR.

I never said anything negative about Conner which was implied by you.

Not trying to argue about Conner though, that was never my intention with my post.

I was strictly discussing players who have yet to show their worth on the field in a Steeler uni who primarily catch passes.

[Ernie]

True. However, TE’s mostly catch the ball when they posses it.

You are correct tho, TE isn’t WR.

I never said anything negative about Conner which was implied by you.

Not trying to argue about Conner though, that was never my intention with my post.

I was strictly discussing players who have yet to show their worth on the field in a Steeler imo who primarily catch passes.

thanks for clarifying...and again.. your initial comment "JUJU, Vance, and a bunch of unprovens" was what i was referring to. Lumping Conner in with the unknowns (which most would imply by your statement) would be a mistake. Im glad that was not your intention.

[Ernie]

i think Conner's ability as a pass catcher is well established at this juncture. he was within 100 yards of McDonald's production in 2018.. despite missing 3 games.

[hawaiiansteel]

New double D Xs are real and impressive – The Steelers added two new wide receivers this offseason in veteran Donte Moncrief via free agency and rookie Diontae Johnson via the draft and on the surface, both had solid showings during the team’s offseason practices. Moncrief achieved his goal of staying on the practice field in his attempt to build a quick rapport with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and while there might be some level of hyperbole involved, he’s seemingly gotten rave reviews from teammates. As for Johnson, the Steelers first of two third-round draft picks this year, the Toledo product seemingly had a very impressive start of OTA and minicamp practices that included him getting some limited work in with the first-team offense and thus Roethlisberger, who said he was “impressed” by the rookie during one press conference and that he “caught everything” thrown his way. Johnson also received great praise from the team’s most experienced cornerback, Haden, as he said the rookie is a “good one” after first complimenting his route running abilities. The steelers offense will could certainly use some early-season contributions out of both Moncrief and Johnson if all possible, it appears both new wide receivers are on track to provide just that.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/06/7-key-things-learned-from-steelers-2019-offseason-practices/

[Steel Maniac]

The Athletic's Mark Kaboly writes Donte Moncrief "looks like a slam-dunk No. 2" receiver.

After watching the free-agent addition in the spring, Kaboly believes Moncrief "easily looks like a 50- or 60-catch guy with five or six touchdowns." The receiver also earned praise from Ben Roethlisberger, who talked up Moncrief's work ethic and knowledge of the offense. It is still possible James Washington or Diontae Johnson make their case in camp, but things are looking good for Moncrief right now.

SOURCE: The Athletic
Jun 18, 2019, 8:53 AM ET

[Oh wow]

My biggest worry on Moncrief is durability.

It’s not even fair, it’s totally based on fear of an injury due to our recent bad luck with other FA’s on offense.

[RuthlessBurgher]

My biggest worry on Moncrief is durability.

It’s not even fair, it’s totally based on fear of an injury due to our recent bad luck with other FA’s on offense.

Well, in his 4 year NFL career prior to arriving in Pittsburgh in 2016, Ladarius Green only played in all 16 games one time (in 2013).

In his 4 year NFL career prior to arriving in Pittsburgh in 2017, Vance McDonald never played in all 16 games (and still hasn't).

In his 5 year NFL career prior to arriving in Pittsburgh in 2019, Donte Moncrief played in all 16 games in three of those seasons (2014, 2015, and 2018).

So he's been comparatively durable in light of our previous TE signings in free agency. Plus, there is more of a physical beating one's body takes when you are a TE like Green and McDonald that is not necessarily the typical case for an incoming WR instead.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Vegas has set Juju and AB with identical odds to lead the league in receiving yardage (both 6-to-1), behind only Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, and Odell Beckham, Jr.

Julio Jones is favored to lead the league in receiving yardage

Posted by Mike Florio on June 19, 2019, 11:56 AM EDT

If/when the Falcons give receiver Julio Jones a new contract, Jones can be expected to earn it right away.

Caesers Entertainment has set the odds for the NFL’s receiving yardage leader, and Jones is the favorite at 4/1. Next come Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Browns receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., who are both at 11/2. Former teammates Antonio Brown (now of the Raiders) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (still of the Steelers) have identical odds, at 6/1.

Bucs receiver Mike Evans comes in at 8/1, along with Packers receiver Davante Adams. Saints receiver Michael Thomas and Vikings receiver Adam Thielen are 10/1.

Three players are off the board, for entirely different reasons: Tyreek Hill, Doug Baldwin, and Rob Gronkowski.

Jones led the NFL last year, with 1,677 yards.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/06/19/julio-jones-is-favored-to-lead-the-league-in-receiving-yardage/

[hawaiiansteel]

Tim Benz: Steelers explain plan to deploy WRs without Antonio Brown

TIM BENZ | Friday, June 21, 2019

The comment from Ben Roethlisberger resonated.

Clearly, JuJu Smith-Schuster was banged up during the season finale. That’s part of the reason why the Steelers’ passing offense was so lackluster en route to an ugly 16-13 victory over a last-place Bengals team.

An even bigger reason, though, was the absence of Antonio Brown. The All-Pro wide receiver was benched because he missed practice during the week.

And with his status uncertain throughout the lead-up to an important season-ender against Cincinnati, game-planning was compromised.

Not strictly from the standpoint of missing his talent. But also the fundamental issue of the quarterback not knowing where everyone was pre-snap.

“Typically, A.B. is the ‘X’ receiver,” Roethlisberger said after that game. “No matter what you call, A.B. is always at X. Anyone else can come in. But A.B. always has his position. Tonight we had four or five guys play ‘X.’ ”

Now, with Brown gone for good, the Steelers are saying that approach will change in 2019. JuJu Smith-Schuster won’t be deployed in that manner as he gets promoted to the role of No. 1 wide receiver.

“No, that’s definitely not for me,” Smith-Schuster said during minicamp. “I’m the guy that plays everywhere around. Inside, outside, even playing tight end this year when we go five wide. We’ve got guys who can play everywhere. Not just one position. We are centering off of one person.”

Even though Smith-Schuster clearly is the best remaining pass-catcher on the team, he will not get hammered into that split end role on the line of scrimmage that Brown held from the “X” position.

Brown was good enough that — even if defenses knew where he was going to line up and what route he was about to run — he couldn’t be stopped.

The Steelers will keep the opposition guessing more in 2019.

“We need to spread it out,” Smith-Schuster said. “Those catches, those yards, need to be made up with wide receivers, running backs, tight ends. Everybody. It’s not just one person.”

Observers of the team are doing some guess work, too. Namely:

• Can Smith-Schuster match his productivity in recent years with defenses gearing up to take him away first now that they don’t have to account for Brown?

And …

• Who will step up and become a legitimate second threat to JuJu, as JuJu had been to A.B.?

If James Washington makes the leap head coach Mike Tomlin normally asks of second-year players, it should be him. After all, he was a highly decorated college player with a second-round draft grade and a year of experience under his belt.

He has also returned to the South Side with a sleeker body. Washington says he dropped 15 pounds to gain speed and separation from professional defensive backs.

“I feel a lot lighter,” Washington said. “I feel like I can stride out a little better. I feel a lot quicker off the jump.”

Along with Washington’s assumed improvement, the Steelers spent a third-round pick on a receiver, Diontae Johnson from Toledo. Free-agent signee Donte Moncrief has been impressive in offseason practices. And there’s the eternal hope that both Vance McDonald and Eli Rogers will stay healthy and that Ryan Switzer will produce more in his second year in Pittsburgh.

Plus, James Conner and Jaylen Samuels could contribute out of the backfield more this year, too, after both running backs elevated their games a year ago.

You know, strength in numbers n’at. Right?

“Everybody is going to be able to help,” Moncrief said. “Everybody in the room is ready to play. Everybody knows that JuJu is going to get a lot of attention. We have to help him out and take that double team away and be men. Everybody needs to be covered, and not just one person.”

So, am I really saying it’ll take eight guys to replace Antonio Brown?

No.

I’m saying it’ll take nine if you count Smith-Schuster perhaps needing to do more, as well.

Yes. Brown was that good. Midnight treadmill rants and bleached mustaches occasionally make you forget that. So whether it’s how the Steelers line up or who lines up for them, the challenge is clear.

No single player on the roster is capable of absorbing Brown’s production. And asking a small army to do it may be confusing at times to figure out.

But at least early in the season, the Steelers may have the element of surprise going for them. That’s a factor Brown could never exploit.

Unless he used it against his own team when they were left to guess if he would show up on time for practices or games.

https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-steelers-explain-plan-to-deploy-wrs-without-antonio-brown/

[hawaiiansteel]

Labriola Expects Eli Rogers and Ryan Switzer Will Compete For One Roster Spot

By Matthew Marczi
Posted on June 25, 2019

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have lost one of the major talents at the wide receiver position in the NFL after trading Antonio Brown, but they do have, potentially, fairly enviable depth. They have a number of wide receivers on the roster right now who are rosterable—some of whom might not make the roster.

The Steelers certainly have at least six wide receivers on their 90-man roster who are worthy of a roster spot—largely, based on the fact that they have been on rosters before, short of rookie Diontae Johnson—and possibly even more when factoring in players like Diontae Spencer, Tevin Jones, and Trey Griffey, the latter two of whom had success in the preseason last year.

But will the Steelers actually keep six wide receivers? Is it necessary, or would it become redundant? Ordinarily, the sixth wide receiver spends his time on the inactive list. Or more accurately, the fifth does, because the sixth is a special teams player.

Bob Labriola believes that this summer, Eli Rogers and Ryan Switzer will be competing against one another for one roster spot, which may well indicate that he believes the team will only carry five wide receivers this year.

JuJu Smith-Schuster is obviously going to make the team, as will Johnson, James Washington, and free agent signing Donte Moncrief. After those four, it gets much more up in the air, but they like both Rogers and Switzer.

The problem is that the two of them have very similar skill sets, and the fact of the matter is that Smith-Schuster is actually their best slot receiver. Rogers and Switzer are both largely limited to playing in the slot, but even if Smith-Schuster plays a lot of snaps on the outside in three-receiver sets, Moncrief and Johnson could also play in the slot.

If the Steelers feel comfortable in the inside-outside versatility of their top four wide receivers, it’s going to be very difficult to justify keeping both Rogers and Switzer on the 53-man roster in 2019 because of the redundancy already mentioned, and the fact that one of them will spend most of the year as a healthy scratch.

There are other areas of the roster that could greatly benefit from that extra roster spot, particularly at the linebacker positions and in the secondary. If they are able to acquire another veteran tight end, it would also more easily allow them to carry an extra player there to accommodate rookie Zach Gentry without pressing him into play.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/06/labriola-expects-eli-rogers-and-ryan-switzer-will-compete-for-one-roster-spot/

[RuthlessBurgher]

I think we keep 6 WR's: Juju, Moncrief, Washington, both Diontaes, and Switzer. I think we trade Eli Rogers. Maybe for added depth at S or TE or maybe in a swap of late round picks next year.

[Steel Maniac]

Labriola Expects Eli Rogers and Ryan Switzer Will Compete For One Roster Spot

By Matthew Marczi
Posted on June 25, 2019

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have lost one of the major talents at the wide receiver position in the NFL after trading Antonio Brown, but they do have, potentially, fairly enviable depth. They have a number of wide receivers on the roster right now who are rosterable—some of whom might not make the roster.

The Steelers certainly have at least six wide receivers on their 90-man roster who are worthy of a roster spot—largely, based on the fact that they have been on rosters before, short of rookie Diontae Johnson—and possibly even more when factoring in players like Diontae Spencer, Tevin Jones, and Trey Griffey, the latter two of whom had success in the preseason last year.

But will the Steelers actually keep six wide receivers? Is it necessary, or would it become redundant? Ordinarily, the sixth wide receiver spends his time on the inactive list. Or more accurately, the fifth does, because the sixth is a special teams player.

Bob Labriola believes that this summer, Eli Rogers and Ryan Switzer will be competing against one another for one roster spot, which may well indicate that he believes the team will only carry five wide receivers this year.

JuJu Smith-Schuster is obviously going to make the team, as will Johnson, James Washington, and free agent signing Donte Moncrief. After those four, it gets much more up in the air, but they like both Rogers and Switzer.

The problem is that the two of them have very similar skill sets, and the fact of the matter is that Smith-Schuster is actually their best slot receiver. Rogers and Switzer are both largely limited to playing in the slot, but even if Smith-Schuster plays a lot of snaps on the outside in three-receiver sets, Moncrief and Johnson could also play in the slot.

If the Steelers feel comfortable in the inside-outside versatility of their top four wide receivers, it’s going to be very difficult to justify keeping both Rogers and Switzer on the 53-man roster in 2019 because of the redundancy already mentioned, and the fact that one of them will spend most of the year as a healthy scratch.

There are other areas of the roster that could greatly benefit from that extra roster spot, particularly at the linebacker positions and in the secondary. If they are able to acquire another veteran tight end, it would also more easily allow them to carry an extra player there to accommodate rookie Zach Gentry without pressing him into play.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/06/la...e-roster-spot/

Like Both guys but I think Switzer has the position.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers WR Johnny Holton ‘Gunning’ For DHB’s Old Roster Spot On 53-Man Unit

By Dave Bryan
Posted on June 25, 2019

Not too long after the Pittsburgh Steelers signed wide receiver Johnny Holton after he was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles back in May, our very own Daniel Valente wrote about the former undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati and specifically how he somewhat compares to wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who played the past five seasons in Pittsburgh.

In his post on Holton, Valente wrote about how the new Steelers wide receiver could offer the Steelers nice special teams abilities in addition to potentially being a speedy deep threat, both attributes that Heyward-Bey brought to the Steelers for the past five seasons. During an offseason practice interview, Holton discussed the role he played during his previous time spent on the roster of the Oakland Raiders and what he said sounded quite familiar.

“My role with the Raiders was pretty much a ‘gunner,’” Holton said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “And on other special teams. And just a vertical route runner, too.”

When asked during that interview if his style of play and what he offers teams is similar to that of Heyward-Bey, Holton had no problem agreeing.

“Yeah, DHB,” Holton said. “He used to play with the Raiders, too.”

While Holton barely saw any playing time with the Raiders during the 2018 season due to him spending most of the year on their practice squad, he did see the field quite a bit with Oakland during the 2017 season after making the initial 53-man roster. In fact, Holton went on to play roughly 230 total offensive snaps in addition to 187 special trams snaps, which was seventh-most on the team that year. Holton finished the 2017 season with 9 receptions for 218 yards and 3 touchdowns in addition to 5 total special teams tackles. Below are his three touchdown receptions from the 2017 season.

In case you’re curious, Holton registered 46 receptions for 892 yards and 10 touchdowns in his two seasons of college football at Cincinnati. He also returned 45 kickoffs for 942 yards. At his 2016 pro day, Holton reportedly measured in at 6005, 190-pounds and ran his 40-yard dash in 4.42-seconds.

Obviously, Holton has his work cut out for him this summer when it comes to him potentially making the Steelers 53-man roster and he’ll probably need to hope that team ultimately keeps six wide receivers in total just as they did last year. Assuming he sticks through the start of the preseason, we can probably expect to see Holton play some as a gunner on punt coverages and especially in the first few exhibition games. He’ll have to have a very good showing in that phase of the game and it sounds like he’s already well aware of that fact.

“Gunner is a big part of my game, so I look forward to coming in here and competing and just filing that role,” Holton said after a minicamp practice, according to the newspaper. “Try to do the best I can do to be on this team.”

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/06/steelers-wr-johnny-holton-gunning-for-dhbs-old-roster-spot-on-53-man-unit/

[hawaiiansteel]

James Washington Picked As Reggie Wayne’s Top Breakout Receiver Of 2019

By Alex Kozora
Posted on June 26, 2019

In Pittsburgh, we know James Washington is under the spotlight. Apparently, the national media has taken notice too. Former Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne, now working for NFL.com, listed the Steelers’ sophomore receiver as his top breakout player of 2019.

In the article, which I encourage you to check out here, the players aren’t listed in any particular order. But in regards to Washington, Wayne writes:

“There are a lot of factors working in Washington’s favor heading into the coming season. With Antonio Brown‘s departure, JuJu Smith-Schuster will attract attention as the team’s new WR1. Washington will get plenty of chances to make big plays against single coverage opposite JuJu…Expectations are high for everyone in Pittsburgh, and it’s up to the 2018 second-rounder to solidify his spot for years to come.”

Hard to argue with anything Wayne writes there. Washington will be counted on for a big role after an obviously disappointing rookie season that ended with just 16 receptions for 217 yards. His biggest play came on his first career reception, a touchdown during a scramble drill versus the Kansas City Chiefs. To his credit, he battled the whole way and finished the season strong with impressive showings against the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals.

Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner noticed improved swagger in Washington’s game late in the year. Here’s what we wrote in late December.

“You could see” him playing with more confidence, and practicing as well, Fichtner said. “He’s getting a lot more reps and he’s going with the [scout] team, so he’s actually getting more reps that way, too”.

Washington is expected to step into the Z role he held for parts of last year. Playing well there will let JuJu Smith-Schuster spent most of his time in the slot, though he’ll play the Z in two receiver sets, which will allow Donte Moncrief and Diontae Johnson battle it out at the X spot.

Expect Washington to have another solid training camp just as he dazzled last year. But he’ll have to translate that to Sunday’s in order for Wayne’s prediction to come true.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/06/james-washington-picked-as-reggie-waynes-top-breakout-receiver-of-2019/

[RuthlessBurgher]

It's interesting that Reggie Wayne talked about James Washington potentially being a breakout WR candidate without mentioning Donte Moncrief at all, considering that Wayne actually played with Moncrief for 1 year (Wayne's last year in Indy overlapped with Moncrief's rookie year in Indy). Plus, Moncrief's rookie season opposite Wayne back in 2014 was more impressive statistically (32-444-3) than Washington's rookie season here last year (16-217-1)...essentially doubled him up.