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

[Ghost]

As long as none of the WR's get frost bitten feet in August, we're definitely better off...

[Steel Maniac]

And that ladies & gentlemen, is the final answer.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I see Juju and Washington starting on the outside with Switzer in the slot.

I think those are the 3 that will take a huge step forward.

I also hope to see Samuels in more of a hyrbid HBack role this year. He's got so much upside as a receiver, I hate to see him waste away on the sideline.

I think it's more likely to have Juju as our starting flanker and Moncrief as our starting split end, and then when we go 3-wide, Juju moves into the slot and Washington enters as the new flanker outside.

I agree with using Samuels more in roles other than a traditional RB. He lined up all over the place at N.C. State...total utility man. I think since our depth at TE behind Vance is not as strong this year with only X. Grimble and Z. Gentry back there, Samuels could be a quasi-TE H-back type for us like, say, Chris Cooley was in Washington back in the day. Or he could also be like former Cardinal Larry Centers out of the backfield.

[phillyesq]

my point is that none of these guys are tough cuts because of talent and neither are any of them legitimate trade bait

after juju it's a bunch of question marks

I think Rogers and Switzer probably have a bit of trade value. Not a huge return, but maybe swapping a 5th for a 6th, or even a conditional 6th/7th rounder. The rest - I'd agree. No trade value.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I think Rogers and Switzer probably have a bit of trade value. Not a huge return, but maybe swapping a 5th for a 6th, or even a conditional 6th/7th rounder. The rest - I'd agree. No trade value.

Or just a player-for-player swap to a team who might be hurting at WR but has more depth than we have at TE or safety.

We could give a WR-needy team our borderline WR5/6 guy on the roster bubble for their borderline TE3/4 on the roster bubble or whatever.

[hawaiiansteel]

Or just a player-for-player swap to a team who might be hurting at WR but has more depth than we have at TE or safety.

We could give a WR-needy team our borderline WR5/6 guy on the roster bubble for their borderline TE3/4 on the roster bubble or whatever.

I suggest a trade with the Raiders...

[Mark]

we are fooling ourselves, Huge step back in the passing game this year

[Sugar]

we are fooling ourselves, Huge step back in the passing game this year

I'm curious as to why you think that is the case. Is it because of WR personnell? Perhaps, because of a changed emphasis back to the run?

[Steel Maniac]

we are fooling ourselves, Huge step back in the passing game this year

Totally disagree. We are a better WR corps then last year. But...we will run the ball more this year so expecting Ben to lead the league in passing yardage isn't going to happen.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I think we throw the ball less, but not by a truly significant amount. Maybe 1 less pass per quarter...that would come out to 4 less passes per game, and thus 64 less passes over the course of a season. Maybe 500 or so less yards through the air over the course of a whole season. Instead of 34 TD passes, maybe Ben falls back into the usual amount in the high 20's instead (28 or 29 TD). More importantly, though, I could see his interception number dropping from 16 down into single digits (8 or 9 INT). That's the most important stat right there.

Essentially, I see our raw passing numbers being lower across the board, but I expect his overall efficiency to improve as he stops trying to force the ball into tight spots to appease an egomaniac diva type and just distributes the ball to whoever happens to be open on a given play.

And if we pass the ball a few times less per game, we can run the ball a few times more, controlling the clock a bit more to help our defense, and if we balance those carries out a bit better between Conner, Samuels, and Snell (maybe something like a 60%-25%-15% distribution rather than just running the wheels off your bellcow every year), we'll be better off for it as an overall team.

[flippy]

I think it's more likely to have Juju as our starting flanker and Moncrief as our starting split end, and then when we go 3-wide, Juju moves into the slot and Washington enters as the new flanker outside.

I agree with using Samuels more in roles other than a traditional RB. He lined up all over the place at N.C. State...total utility man. I think since our depth at TE behind Vance is not as strong this year with only X. Grimble and Z. Gentry back there, Samuels could be a quasi-TE H-back type for us like, say, Chris Cooley was in Washington back in the day. Or he could also be like former Cardinal Larry Centers out of the backfield.

You may be right on Juju playing in the slot a lot because that's where he's been most effective. But I suspect he'll move inside and have Moncrief come in on the outside. Time will tell between Washington and Moncrief, but the first game looked to me like Washington is a completely different player and ready to step up. Of course they paid Moncrief to start, so there's probably a 95% chance you're right. But I really like what I've seen out of Washington so far and think he defies the odds.

Where does that leave the other WRs? I'm not 100% sure. But I think Switzer is going to take the biggest step forward of anyone on the roster, especially now that he has a full offseason with the team. He could easily become Ben's safety valve in this offense. Ben seems to like him and I could see him getting a lot of the newly available looks/targets.

[RuthlessBurgher]

You may be right on Juju playing in the slot a lot because that's where he's been most effective. But I suspect he'll move inside and have Moncrief come in on the outside. Time will tell between Washington and Moncrief, but the first game looked to me like Washington is a completely different player and ready to step up. Of course they paid Moncrief to start, so there's probably a 95% chance you're right. But I really like what I've seen out of Washington so far and think he defies the odds.

Since we are in 3 WR sets way more than we are in 2 WR sets anymore, essentially Juju, Moncrief, and Washington should all be considered to be starters.

If Diontae Johnson improves as the season moves along, perhaps he could steal some snaps from Moncrief as we get deeper into the season.

[Steel Maniac]

You may be right on Juju playing in the slot a lot because that's where he's been most effective. But I suspect he'll move inside and have Moncrief come in on the outside. Time will tell between Washington and Moncrief, but the first game looked to me like Washington is a completely different player and ready to step up. Of course they paid Moncrief to start, so there's probably a 95% chance you're right. But I really like what I've seen out of Washington so far and think he defies the odds.

Where does that leave the other WRs? I'm not 100% sure. But I think Switzer is going to take the biggest step forward of anyone on the roster, especially now that he has a full offseason with the team. He could easily become Ben's safety valve in this offense. Ben seems to like him and I could see him getting a lot of the newly available looks/targets.

We gotta see what Moncrief does with all things being even as well. Washington looked wonderful but Moncrief has to be given an opportunity.

[AzStillers1989]

we are fooling ourselves, Huge step back in the passing game this year

Okay “Mark”. ����

[RuthlessBurgher]

Okay “Mark”. ����