Pittsburgh Steelers training camp: 3 Most important position battles
By Samuel Teets
2. Wide receiver
In a controversial move, the Steelers used their top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool. The 6-4, 238-pound receiver is still rough around the edges, but he’s a physical specimen. Claypool ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds at the combine. That’s not in D.K. Metcalf’s range (4.33 speed), but it’s still exceptional for a player with Claypool’s size.
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The rookie joins a loaded wide receiver room led by JuJu Smith-Schuster. The USC product amassed 2,343 receiving yards during his first two seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2018, but his play suffered last year. Between poor quarterback play and injuries, Smith-Schuster only recorded 552 yards in 2019.
Pittsburgh’s offense also features 2018 second-round pick James Washington and 2019 third-round selection, Diontae Johnson. After a forgettable rookie season, Washington led the Steelers in receiving yards last season. Meanwhile, Johnson led the team in receptions and earned a Second-Team All-Pro selection as a punt returner.
Smith-Schuster is a free agent after this coming season. The Steelers don’t have a lot of available cap space for next year, especially if the cap shrinks. According to ProFootballTalk, teams expected the 2021 salary cap to be around $215 million. Instead, it could wither down to $175 million as owners try to recuperate billions of dollars lost during the pandemic.
Even if Smith-Schuster completely rebounds in 2020, he’ll price himself out of Pittsburgh’s range. If he underperforms, then the team won’t consider re-signing him. Either way, it looks like the Steelers and Smith-Schuster are on diverging paths.