Steelers add JuJu to 3-ring circus
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Worried about Martavis Bryant much?
Perhaps they should be.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, still reeling from a shredding at the hands of Tom Brady and looking at a talented crop of defensive backs in the 2017 draft, instead chose wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster of Southern Cal with their second-round pick on Friday night.
They drafted a cornerback, Cam Sutton of Tennessee, in the third round.
Smith-Schuster is a 6-1 1/2, 215-pounder with 4.54 speed who caught 70 passes last season for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In three full seasons at USC, Smith-Schuster caught 213 passes at 14.5 yards per catch with 25 touchdowns. He won鈥檛 turn 21 until November.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 the youngest in the draft,鈥� said Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley. 鈥淎s you know in the last few years we鈥檝e had good success with young guys like that that. We feel like we are getting them early enough to really make an impact on their development.
鈥淗e is a good-sized receiver. He was very productive out there at USC. He is a really do-it-all guy. He can play inside, outside. If you had to say what he excelled at, I鈥檇 say his ability to catch the ball in combative situations, 50/50 balls as we call them, and he usually comes down with them. He鈥檚 a really exciting guy and we are excited to get him here to work on.鈥�
Haley was asked five questions, with the fifth question on whether Smith-Schuster was insurance in case of a lapse by Bryant, who鈥檚 recently returned from a year-long suspension.
Haley responded that, no, it wasn鈥檛 about insurance and the interview was abruptly ended.
Bryant, meanwhile, tweeted that (sic) 鈥渓ol that鈥檚 Sammie coates replacement not minds take it how you want to I am back.鈥�
To which Coates replied 鈥淗ahahahahaha.鈥�
And to which Mike Tomlin replied, 鈥淧lay nice boys.鈥�
Bryant then deleted his tweet and Coates responded that he will see everyone Monday.
Good thing the interview with the adult was ended, right?
As for Smith-Schuster, he鈥檚 talented, young, tough, big-bodied, is difficult to bring down after the catch, but, according to draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki, 鈥淗e has some diva in him.鈥�
Haven鈥檛 we suffered enough?
But Nawrocki did add that, 鈥淚t usually comes across constructively. He鈥檚 extremely competitive and hates to lose and it gets him in trouble sometimes.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檇 say he鈥檚 very competitive and passionate about what he does,鈥� Haley said. 鈥淭hat shows up in the run game, which is an exciting thing for us. He鈥檚 not a guy that鈥檚 afraid to stick his nose in there and block safeties and even some linebackers. He plays with a great passion, which is one of the exciting things about him.鈥�
Smith-Schuster grew up in Long Beach, California, and reportedly remained close to home to stay near his church. He added the Schuster to his last name at the age of 18 to honor his stepfather. He was asked last night about his unique first name.
鈥淕rowing up as a kid, my aunt called me John-John and Joe-Joe, then Choo-Choo. It finally went to JuJu,鈥� Smith-Schuster said.
The prospect understands he鈥檚 headed to the team for which his Athletic Director at USC, Lynn Swann, helped win four Super Bowls.
鈥淗e always gave me advice about staying focused, always staying positive, keep working hard, don鈥檛 give up, just keep going strong,鈥� Smith-Schuster said. 鈥淗e said 鈥榃hatever team gets you, it鈥檚 going to be special. You just have to keep fighting.鈥� He didn鈥檛 talk about me going to the Steelers or anything like that. It was just advice about being a good person and keep working hard.鈥�
While the Steelers might be worried about Bryant and his propensity for self-destruction, it鈥檚 also true their depth chart is very thin behind Bryant and Antonio Brown and the addition of a receiver was necessary in this draft.
Smith-Schuster will also help the new cornerback, Sutton, a 5-11 1/4, 188-pound cover corner who ran a 4.52 40 at the Combine with respectable explosiveness (34 vertical) and agility (6.81 3-cone/4.23 shuffle).
鈥淏ig, physical receivers are kind of a trend in the league, and with JuJu Smith-Schuster coming,鈥� said Steelers secondary coach Carnell Lake, 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 really going to help our secondary prepare and get ready to play a more physical type receiver.鈥�
Sutton will be a part of the competition. He was a four-year starter at Tennessee who intercepted seven passes and broke up 30 others. He also returned 45 punts (14.6 avg.) but his main job description, from the sounds of things, will be learning the nickel slot.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 nickel/corner as opposed to corner/safety,鈥� Lake said.
Sutton is knocked by analysts as not being physical in the run game, but Lake likes his man coverage skills and promised the team will add more man coverage to their defensive packages. this season.
鈥淗e knows how to cover, he stays close, and that鈥檚 something we鈥檝e been looking for in the draft,鈥� Lake said, before adding, 鈥淔or us to be versatile as a defense, we鈥檙e going to instill a little more man this year. 鈥� We believe that Sutton will help us in that area.鈥�