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WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, NE (1 Viewer)

JuJu Smith-Schuster caught his 4-of-5 targets for 36 yards and one touchdown in the Steelers' third preseason game.

Smith-Schuster was heavily targeted in the only quarter he played, and he showed off his ability to win outside on his touchdown grab off a post route. The Steelers are confident that Smith-Schuster can win all over the field, so expect JuJu to line up everywhere just like how the Steelers used to do with Antonio Brown. With Big Ben leading the NFL in pass attempts last year, we can confidently pencil in Smith-Schuster for a ton of targets, making him a no-brainer WR1 in fantasy.

Aug 25, 2019, 8:59 PM ET

 
Really torn between Juju, Mike Thomas and Tyreek right now.
I don't think there is a wrong answer there, take:

Tyreek if you value upside (highest weekly ceiling)

Thomas if you value safety (highest season-long floor)

Juju if you value opportunity (will be heavily targetted)

 
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He was top 4 last year with AB ahead of him.  Juju had 166 targets and Julio had 170 for the league lead. 
Kind of ridiculous, the number of targets up for grabs and the number he'd already laid claim to anyways. 

Has that ever happened before? Two WRs from the same team in the top-5 in targets? Crazy. I imagine there were probably some Harrison/Wayne years like that for the Colts.

 
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Kind of ridiculous, the number of targets up for grabs and the number he'd already laid claim to anyways. 

Has that ever happened before? Two WRs from the same team in the top-5 in targets? Crazy. I imagine there were probably some Harrison/Wayne years like that for the Colts.
The Minnesota pair were both top10 as well.

 
Kind of ridiculous, the number of targets up for grabs and the number he'd already laid claim to anyways. 

Has that ever happened before? Two WRs from the same team in the top-5 in targets? Crazy. I imagine there were probably some Harrison/Wayne years like that for the Colts.
Fitz and Boldin both finished top 5, and so did Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh. Also, Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez did it.

I guessed Wayne/Harrison and Roddy/Julio, but neither of those did.  

A lot of it probably has to do with both players being healthy during that career prime overlap. 

 
JuJu Smith-Schuster suffered a toe injury in Sunday's night game against the Patriots.

He'll undergo X-rays this week. Smith-Schuster had six catches for 78 yards before going down late in the fourth quarter. He expects to play in Week 2, but Smith-Schuster is likely going to miss some practice time.

SOURCE: Brooke Pryor on Twitter

Sep 9, 2019, 12:12 AM ET

 
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports JuJu Smith-Schuster (toe) is "expected to be fine" for Week 2.

Smith-Schuster needed X-rays after injuring his toe late in the fourth quarter, but they came back negative. It's great news for a Steelers offense that couldn't get anything going in Week 1. The Steelers may limit Smith-Schuster in practice this week, but he's on track to play in Sunday's matchup with Seattle.

SOURCE: Ian Rapoport on Twitter

Sep 9, 2019, 2:22 PM ET

 
X-rays? How about an MRI? X-rays won't reveal ligament damage. I get nervous whenever I hear about toe, hammy or groin injuries. Players routinely try to tough these out and typically end up playing poorly doing so.

Missed out on JuJu in both my leagues, but think the world of the guy. Hopefully he makes a full recovery and they play it smart, even it means missing a couple games.

 
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he was "optimistic" about JuJu Smith-Schuster's (toe) availability for Week 2.

Smith-Schuster's fully expected to be limited throughout the week, but there's no doubt he'll suit up for Sunday after X-rays came back negative. The Steelers' go-to option will be a no-doubt WR1 in Week 2 despite his underwhelming performance against the Patriots in Pittsburgh's season opener.

SOURCE: James Palmer on Twitter

Sep 10, 2019, 12:13 PM ET

 
JuJu could be a buy low. Waldman is apparently on Defcon 3 after 1 week and keep reading about his underwhelming and disappointing performance week 1. Still got 8 targets and caught 75% of them for 75 yards in a game PIT didn't score a TD. Julio had 3 more targets than JuJu, caught 54% of them and only had 31 yards. Even with his TD that was abysmal. I get that JuJu needs to prove it, where a guy like Julio is a name brand WR#1, but I didn't think JuJu did that bad. Toe thing doesn't help though. Maybe PIT crashes and burns this year, but seems like a huge over reaction on the entire team who had BB scheme a way to stop them for months. 

 
JuJu could be a buy low. Waldman is apparently on Defcon 3 after 1 week and keep reading about his underwhelming and disappointing performance week 1. Still got 8 targets and caught 75% of them for 75 yards in a game PIT didn't score a TD. Julio had 3 more targets than JuJu, caught 54% of them and only had 31 yards. Even with his TD that was abysmal. I get that JuJu needs to prove it, where a guy like Julio is a name brand WR#1, but I didn't think JuJu did that bad. Toe thing doesn't help though. Maybe PIT crashes and burns this year, but seems like a huge over reaction on the entire team who had BB scheme a way to stop them for months. 
Jury is 100% out on Juju... until he proves he is a true #1, he will be Alvin Harper.

Julio? Amazing how a handful of 40+ fantasy point games cover the fact that he is erased quite easily in a lot of contests. He's no DeAndre Hopkins.

 
Jury is 100% out on Juju... until he proves he is a true #1, he will be Alvin Harper.

Julio? Amazing how a handful of 40+ fantasy point games cover the fact that he is erased quite easily in a lot of contests. He's no DeAndre Hopkins.
Completely understand. Just noticing that his debut as the #1 seemed to be universally trashed while if he averaged those terrible stats all year he'd basically be Brandin Cooks or Keenan Allen last year. A step down from JuJu himself last year, but coming in 5th in yards and 6th in catches was impressive. Seems to be an opportunity to cash in if you believe in JuJu while some people are already at Defcon 3.

 
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Completely understand. Just noticing that his debut as the #1 seemed to be universally trashed while if he averaged those terrible stats all year he'd basically be Brandin Cooks or Keenan Allen last year. A step down from JuJu himself last year, but coming in 5th in yards and 6th in catches was impressive. Seems to be an opportunity to cash in if you believe in JuJu while some people are already at Defcon 3.
Juju benefited from PIT being in garbage time the entire 4th QTR (most of the 3rd as well).

He was totally erased in the 1st half.

Agreed though on your point. If you think he can get the job done, should be lot of people looking to cut bait on him.

Steelers as a whole looked completely non-competitive on offense. They looked like a team missing their two best skill players.

 
Juju benefited from PIT being in garbage time the entire 4th QTR (most of the 3rd as well).

He was totally erased in the 1st half.

Agreed though on your point. If you think he can get the job done, should be lot of people looking to cut bait on him.
When did this garbage time happen, because the Patriots starters played the whole game as did the Steelers?  Why in the world would anyone cut bait on Juju after one game, and in that game he was covered by Stephon Gilmore who is a great CB.  Juju did pretty good considering some 1's hardly get anything against the Pats D. 

 
When did this garbage time happen, because the Patriots starters played the whole game as did the Steelers?  Why in the world would anyone cut bait on Juju after one game, and in that game he was covered by Stephon Gilmore who is a great CB.  Juju did pretty good considering some 1's hardly get anything against the Pats D. 
I guarantee you there are a lot more nervous Juju owners today than last week.

It's not just Juju's fault either. If you believe that Juju is WR1/top-5 material, imagine what DC's thought when they faced the Steelers in 2018 with AB out there. Now primary threat is gone, #2 slides into #1 (max coverage), and the 3rd slot (non-stater) is now #2... could be a developmental phase - at least chemistry-wise with Big Ben.

Dynasty I think you hold for sure, but re-draft guys have to be thinking this could be a problem.

 
I think he's always been closer to Boldin/Ward than TO/Julio in terms of talent level. Really good player, but not quite the all-world dominator. I've been a big fan from day one and I wouldn't even consider selling in dynasty because he's very young and very good. Even if he's only a 1000-1200 guy for his career, there's so much value in the potential longevity he has at just 22 years old.

On the other hand, if you bought in redraft expecting a 1400-1600 season then I can see him being a mild flop. He won't be the guy who kills your season, but he may not be the dynamic WR1 you paid for. I think he's going to have some inconsistent weeks, but on the other hand he's really all they have in the passing game until someone else steps up, so the floor seems high in any given game regardless of match up.

It might actually be a good thing if someone like Johnson or Washington can become a big threat, as the Steelers have typically relied on that elite lid-lifter to help their underneath guys (Burress/Holmes with Ward, AB with JuJu). Without a viable threat there, JuJu is going to be the primary concern for opposing pass defenses.

 
Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (toe) is good to go for the Steelers' Week 2 matchup against the Seahawks.

JuJu (90% snap rate) and Donte Moncrief (90%) were the Steelers' only full-time WRs in Week 1, as each of Ryan Switzer (69%), James Washington (52%) and Diontae Johnson (36%) were featured more as auxiliary options. JuJu is locked in as a WR1 as the undisputed lead target in what looks like one of the league's most pass-heavy offenses. The whole passing game is set up well against a Seahawks defense that just allowed Andy Dalton to throw for 418 yards and a pair of scores in Week 1.

Sep 13, 2019, 4:02 PM ET

 
JuJu Smith-Schuster caught 5-of-8 targets for 84 yards in the Steelers' Week 2 loss to the Seahawks.

It's a similar line as last week in New England, as JuJu has been held out of the end zone in two straight games to open the year. Smith-Schuster was pretty quiet before catching a 45-yard bomb from Mason Rudolph in the third quarter. And Vance McDonald and James Conner combined to score the Steelers' three red-zone touchdowns. JuJu will look to visit pay dirt next week against the 49ers, but the status of Ben Roethlisberger (elbow) is unclear.

 
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Thoughts on Juju going forward? Redraft? 

... I’m 0-2 and need to make some moves - thinking he’s a big name that I could some value at other positions.

whats the Shark pool doing here? Holding fast? Mason could eventually be better than Ben. And Juju is the main target when passing - I think? Or is it going to be Vance?

what say you guys? Not sure how to value this kid at the moment.

 
JuJu Smith-Schuster caught 3-of-7 targets for 81 yards and one touchdown in the Steelers' Week 3 loss to the 49ers.

Smith-Schuster and Mason Rudolph weren't on the same page for most of the game, but they connected on a crossing route over the middle that JuJu was able to take to the house for a 76-yard touchdown. It was reminiscent of the 2018 Smith-Schuster touchdowns with Big Ben. If Rudolph can't improve, Smith-Schuster will have some dud weeks this season, but he'll be one of the most-targeted receivers regardless of how Rudolph plays. JuJu will be a volume-based WR1/2 in a home game against the vulnerable Bengals' secondary next week.

Sep 22, 2019, 8:09 PM ET

 
Rudolph is ####### awful. They were able to mostly hide it by running everything, even the passing game, through both RB's...but he is really bad. Have a feeling that draft pick they traded is gonna be high. They are so limited with him.

 
Rudolph is ####### awful. They were able to mostly hide it by running everything, even the passing game, through both RB's...but he is really bad. Have a feeling that draft pick they traded is gonna be high. They are so limited with him.
He almost got Juju killed on that pass out on the flat. 

Rudolph does look pretty bad. 

 
JuJu Smith-Schuster caught 3-of-4 targets for 15 yards in the Steelers' Week 4 win over the Bengals Monday night.

The Steelers took very few shots down the field in this one, with the lone long pass going to Diontae Johnson for a 43-yard touchdown. Pittsburgh spent the rest of the night dumping short passes off to James Conner (8-83-1) and Jaylen Samuels (8-57), and it worked all evening. JuJu's stock took a big hit with the injury to Ben Roethlisberger. Outside of a 76-yard score last week, JuJu has five catches for 20 yards in Mason Rudolph's two starts. His floor is extremely low in this risk-averse, dink-and-dunk Rudolph-led offense. He's a back-end WR2 for Week 5 against the Ravens.

Sep 30, 2019, 11:23 PM ET

 
Game planning around Rudolph's limitations with dinks and dunks and utilizing two RBs + wild cat.  Even Diante's catch was wide open, and it looked like Rudolph would have missed him were he not totally alone and behind the defense.

Not sure PIT WRs are startable until something changes here.  Pretty bleak.  Man my teams would be so good if JuJu were getting the volume I had game planned for...

OH well.

 
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Rudolph is ####### awful. They were able to mostly hide it by running everything, even the passing game, through both RB's...but he is really bad. Have a feeling that draft pick they traded is gonna be high. They are so limited with him.
It’s his 2nd start of his career and the play calling has been about as conservative as humanly possible.  No he hasn’t looked good in the limited time but it’s also kind of early to assume that he won’t improve.  

 
It’s his 2nd start of his career and the play calling has been about as conservative as humanly possible.  No he hasn’t looked good in the limited time but it’s also kind of early to assume that he won’t improve.  


I'm sure it's possible he improves, but what do I know. I think the playcalling shows his coaches aren't sure about him, though. They had a big lead and could have gotten him some looks in the 4th quarter to get some more challenging throws on tape, and instead they stayed conservative and chose to pretty much just get him out of that game as quickly as possible. 

 
Not much you can do right now but hold. No one will give you fair value. Need to hope for a good game and then move him.

 
Given JuJu's propensity for social media and partying and need for attention, I fear he may be following in AB's footsteps much sooner than anyone would have hoped.

More power to him.  I'd probably do the same thing TBH, so cannot judge.  Sucks for FF though.

 
Dont worry about Juju long term.  Besides the Ben/Randolph dynamic, this offense needs Dio to take pressure off of Juju as Juju is doing for his chances right now. They dont have any other downfield threats with Washington not providing and McDonald not playing.  If Dio continues as he is then it'll happen sooner than later.

 
JuJu is not a #1. Never has been. Never will be. Diontae will help JuJu once it gets to the point where teams start moving coverage over to him and away from JuJu. 

 
I'm 2-2 with Thielen and Juju as my top 2 WRs and I'm very concerned. These two guys just don't get the looks right now with a second year QB and a crappy overpaid one. I'm not feeling good about the rest of the year with these two WRs.

 

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