JuJu Smith-Schuster Fantasy News and Statistics

There has always been a lot of hype surrounding Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. He was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, and that helped him earn playing time early in college at USC.

In his first year with the Trojans, he had no issue adapting to the Division I FBS level of competition. In his college debut, he had four catches for 123 yards in his team’s blowout win over Fresno State. It was his first of two 100-yard performances that season, as he served as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver behind Nelson Agholor. On the year, Smith-Schuster had 54 catches for 724 yards and five touchdown grabs. Luckily for Smith-Schuster, he was only teammates with Agholor for one season. The elder receiver was selected in the 2015 NFL Draft, which gave the rising sophomore an opportunity to shine that fall.

Smith-Schuster capitalized on the opportunity at hand. He began to emerge as one of the top wide receivers in the nation. The second game of the season marked his top performance, as he recorded 10 catches for 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a blowout win over Idaho. On the year, he exceeded 1,400 receiving yards with 89 catches, 10 of which were for touchdowns.

Unfortunately for Smith-Schuster, he was not able to take his game to the next level as a junior. That possibility was thwarted, as Cody Kessler was drafted into the NFL for the 2016 season, so the team had a new quarterback under center in Sam Darnold. With the youngster leading the offense, the team threw on a less frequent basis, but Smith-Schuster was its leading receiver as he made 70 catches and recorded over 900 receiving yards. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of his NCAA football career came in his final game when he went off in his team’s 52-49 Rose Bowl win over Penn State. He finished the contest with a strong stat line, making seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. He then decided to forego his final season of eligibility.

Since he showed off what he could really do his sophomore season, he was still an appealing draft prospect. The Pittsburgh Steelers recognized this and selected him in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Fortunately for Smith-Schuster, he is in a relatively favorable position as he begins his NFL career. He is on a team with one of the top quarterbacks in the league, two-time Super Bowl champ Ben Roethlisberger. And because he was a high draft pick, he is likely going to receive his chances to prove his worth early in the year.

During the preseason, the rookie dealt with a bone bruise and a concussion, which makes it harder for him to find a spot in the team’s offense. Even with Antonio Brown, Eli Rogers and Martavis Bryant as the team’s wide receiver options, though, Smith-Schuster should be able to carve out some playing time—especially as the season progresses. Otherwise, the Steelers probably would not have selected him.