JuJu: James Washington will ’sneak up on everybody’

Together with Antonio Brown out west, JuJu Smith-Schuster is the unquestioned No. 1 receiver in Pittsburgh.

But the Steelers still must figure out who Ben Roethlisberger’s second option is.
Donte Moncrief, Ryan Switzer, Eli Rogers and newcomer Diontae Johnson should see attention from Big Ben, but according to Smith-Schuster, second-year receiver James Washington will be Pittsburgh’s breakout pass-catcher in 2019.
”But you talk about a young dude who is up and coming, it is likely to become James Washington,” Smith Schuster told ESPN. ”A man from Oklahoma State, came to the Steelers his rookie year, started off slow but figured it out and got the ropes down.
LATEST ANALYSIS
??? Team fits for best remaining FAs
??? Ranking deepest place groups
??? NFL triplets positions: Who’s No. 1?
??? NFC West primer: Camp questions ??? Rank: Could Redskins surprise?
”This past summer workouts which we had, he has been doing amazing, a fantastic job. I am super excited to see how he does this year. He is our guy that’s going to creep up on everybody.”
Washington began six games in his rookie year, supporting Brown, Smith-Schuster and Switzer, and caught 16 balls on 38 targets for 217 yards and a touchdown. His 42.1 grab percentage was the lowest on the group among ability players with 14 targets.
Washington should see a gain in playtime from 2019 from the past year’s 526 snaps (47.1% ), and the recipient has been readying himself for an larger workload. Washington told The Athletic during offseason workouts that he fell 15 pounds to 210 in prep for the upcoming campaign.
The receiver confessed that he had been”burnt” in his rookie season during which he saw his snap count his quarterback criticize him on local radio. All that has supported Washington to prepare for the forthcoming training camp of Pittsburgh.
”I am just hoping to come in more confident,” Washington told The Atheltic’s Mark Kaboly in May. ”It wasn’t that I played confidence last year, but I wanted to come in with that feeling of urgency that I felt as though I lacked a little last year”
Count Smith-Schuster among the teammates who have already noticed.

Read more here: http://honochhan.se/wordpress/?p=4883