NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
After testing the free agent waters, Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster has agreed to return to the team for 2021, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Former Steelers’ WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2021
Smith-Schuster, still only 24, has been with the Steelers since the team selected him in the second round in 2017. He had 1,400 yards in 2018 and made the Pro Bowl, but he fell off to 552 yards in an injury-plagued 2019 and only had 831 yards in 2020. He’ll be in the mix with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool in the Steelers’ WR room in 2021.
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster chooses to return to Pittsburgh
Fantasy slant: Smith-Schuster’s return to Pittsburgh is a true mixed bag for fantasy purposes. On the one hand, Smith-Schuster is a fine low-end PPR WR2 in Pittsburgh as Ben Roethlisberger’s security blanket. He was the fantasy WR16 last year. On the other and, Smith-Schuster’s laughably low average depth of target in 2020 (5.49 yards, last among WRs with at least 50 targets) leaves a lot to be desired for a player who has already proven himself capable of more. Smith-Schuster’s return also bites into the breakout potential of Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. In the end, nothing really changes in Pittsburgh. All three players will be viable options in fantasy on a weekly basis, but all three will cap each other’s upside, with Smith-Schsuter’s upside being the lowest of the bunch barring a significant role change. The only true fantasy winner here is Roethlisberger, who is armed once again with one of the best receiving casts in the league. — Tyler Loechner
