The Pittsburgh Steelers season ended earlier than anyone could have expected and despite an 11-0 start, the team crumbled down the stretch and might have missed out on their last, best chance for a Super Bowl for a long time. Here is our look back at each positional until in our own version of the exit interviews.
Next up, we have the wide receivers.
On paper, the Steelers group of wide receivers was as talented as any in the NFL going into 2020. Unfortunately, once the Steelers passing offense became relegated to a dink and dunk attack with very little explosion, much of the talent went to waste.
In terms of stats, JuJu Smith-Schuster led the team with 97 receptions. If it wasn’t for the fact that he only averaged 8.6 yards per reception, Smith-Schuster might have been able to parlay the season into a huge free-agent contract.
Diontae Johnson led the team in passing yards with 923. If it wasn’t for the fact he also led the league in drops, he could have put together an elite performance. Johnson was one of the guys on the roster who flourished in the short passing game with his ability to get yards after the catch.
The Steelers do have themselves a future star in rookie Chase Claypool. Claypool was second on the team in receiving yards, led the team in yards per catch and led the team in total touchdowns.
James Washington was the most underrated receiver on the roster and the most underused. All Washington did when he got on the field was perform but limited reps only yielded him 30 catches for 392 receiving yards.
Looking ahead to next season, this group is going to be led by Johnson and Claypool with Smith-Schuster exiting in free agency. With the promise of a new offensive coordinator and hopefully some innovation and creativity in the new scheme, this should be a great opportunity to really see what this group can do. But it will depend largely on who is throwing them the football.
