polamalubeast
05-15-2019, 05:38 PM
Quite possibly the biggest question of the 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers season will come down whether JuJu Smith-Schuster is able to stand in for the enormous shoes that Antonio Brown left when he was traded out of Pittsburgh. There are strong cases to be made on both sides. On one hand, Smith-Schuster out-produced Brown last season. On the other, fans are quick to point out that coverage always shifted to Brown, who is considered the top wide receiver in the NFL.
Still, with or without Brown, the team was slowly shifting to Smith-Schuster as the face of their offense anyway. Without Brown, it is going to come faster than expected, but it was likely to happen nonetheless. These are the three reasons why Smith-Schuster will only ascend without Brown.
AGE-ADJUSTED PRODUCTION
One of the biggest strengths to drafting Smith-Schuster in the second round was his age. At age 20, he was the youngest player in the entire NFL draft. Age is an extremely important factor from baseball to basketball, but somehow gets underplayed in the NFL. That is mainly because the draft eligibility rules put every player in a similar bucket. However, every once in a while a player such as Smith-Schuster will pop up and play ahead of his age group.
It is one thing to beat your peers. It is another to do it at a younger age than them. Especially considering the physical and mental development that takes place between 18-22 years of age.
Considering Smith-Schuster’s age and production in the NFL, he is well ahead of his peers in the learning curve. Smith-Schuster is just five months older than first-round rookie Marquise Brown and is younger than second-round rookie Deebo Samuel. While it was rare for Smith-Schuster to get the coverage looks he did thanks to Antonio Brown, Smith-Schuster is rare in himself that he has been this productive at this age. Last year he held the Steelers in receiving with 111 catches and 1,426 yards.
Below is list of every NFL player in the history of the sport to record 1,400 yards in a season before turning 23 years old.
read more
https://steelersnow.com/3-reasons-juju-smith-schuster-will-continue-to-ascend-in-2019/
Still, with or without Brown, the team was slowly shifting to Smith-Schuster as the face of their offense anyway. Without Brown, it is going to come faster than expected, but it was likely to happen nonetheless. These are the three reasons why Smith-Schuster will only ascend without Brown.
AGE-ADJUSTED PRODUCTION
One of the biggest strengths to drafting Smith-Schuster in the second round was his age. At age 20, he was the youngest player in the entire NFL draft. Age is an extremely important factor from baseball to basketball, but somehow gets underplayed in the NFL. That is mainly because the draft eligibility rules put every player in a similar bucket. However, every once in a while a player such as Smith-Schuster will pop up and play ahead of his age group.
It is one thing to beat your peers. It is another to do it at a younger age than them. Especially considering the physical and mental development that takes place between 18-22 years of age.
Considering Smith-Schuster’s age and production in the NFL, he is well ahead of his peers in the learning curve. Smith-Schuster is just five months older than first-round rookie Marquise Brown and is younger than second-round rookie Deebo Samuel. While it was rare for Smith-Schuster to get the coverage looks he did thanks to Antonio Brown, Smith-Schuster is rare in himself that he has been this productive at this age. Last year he held the Steelers in receiving with 111 catches and 1,426 yards.
Below is list of every NFL player in the history of the sport to record 1,400 yards in a season before turning 23 years old.
read more
https://steelersnow.com/3-reasons-juju-smith-schuster-will-continue-to-ascend-in-2019/