One of the biggest surprises in the 2021 offseason was in regards to JuJu Smith-Schuster. Everyone was almost certain he was going to get paid in a big way heading into the 2021 offseason, but that didn't seem to be the case. Although the Ravens tried to pry him from the Steelers by offering him more money he chose to be loyal to the Steelers organization instead of jumping to the Steelers rival in 2021. That is great news the Steelers ended up keeping JuJu because it took away one less need going into the 2021 NFL draft. The Steelers still have some holes to fill, but I believe they're a much better team now especially on the offensive side of the ball.
JuJu Smith-Schuster recently sat down with Adam Schefter on his Podcast and discussed what we could expect from him coming into a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. He says we are going to see the whole package especially in regards to him playing outside a lot more this season. This is not normally the case because the Steelers typically love to put JuJu in the slot more. Smith-Schuster guarantees we will see him playing outside a lot more this season.
It will be interesting to see JuJu play outside more because the Steelers now have Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth who can play inside while he is on the outside. That could throw teams off completely because now they will have to look for mismatches coming from the inside instead of just always looking for JuJu Smith-Schuster. He feels the presence of Najee Harris on the Pittsburgh Steelers will make the Steeler's offense more balanced now and he seems to be a big fan of Najee.
There is no doubt the Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the best receiving corps in the NFL. Now we can expect to see more of James Washington going forward as well. I believe Matt Canada will try to use all of his talents to the best of their ability this season and that was one thing the Steelers were lacking in 2020. The Steelers will also have to figure out a way to use Najee Harris not only out of the backfield, but bring him forward as a wide receiver too. That is going to be so fun to watch. I think the Steelers offense is going to be much better than what people think going into 2021. It should be surprising to those who do not follow the Steelers 100% of the time.