James Washington

Washington had a career-high 735 receiving yards with three touchdowns in 2019, but his target share decreased in 2020 after Chase Claypool emerged as a deep threat. Washington still racked up a career-high five receiving touchdowns last year, but he enters the 2021 campaign as the clear No. 4 option at wide receiver and is unlikely to have a consistent role if the rest of the Steelers' top pass catchers are healthy.

After a dismal rookie season, the 2018 second-round pick showed signs last year, despite playing with some of the league's worst quarterbacks. Washington averaged 16.7 YPC and 9.2 YPT on 80 targets, even with six drops. He had four catches of 40-plus yards, and 13 of 20-plus, i.e., he made an unusual number of big plays under difficult conditions. At 5-11, 213, Washington has average height, but he's stout and strong. His timed 4.54 speed is below average, and his athletic marks are similarly middle of the road, but the Steelers have had an eye for receiver talent and development for more than a decade, and many have had physical specs that were similarly nondescript. Washington should benefit from the return of a healthy Ben Roethlisberger, and presumably from a vastly improved and more pass-heavy Steelers offense, but he'll have to compete for looks with No. 1 wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, promising second-year man Diontae Johnson and rookie second-round pick Chase Claypool.

The 60th overall pick last year, Washington wasn't used much as a rookie, and when he was he did poorly - only 38 targets all season and 16 catches for a paltry 5.7 YPT. But with Antonio Brown's 168 targets gone and only Donte Moncrief and third-round pick Diontae Johnson brought in as replacements, opportunity knocks. At 5-11, 213, and with middling speed (4.54 40), Washington's physical specs aren't far off from those of incumbent star JuJu Smith-Schuster, a similarly stout former second-rounder who burst onto the scene in 2017. While Washington's debut wasn't nearly as auspicious, the Steelers organization has been excellent at finding high-quality receivers lacking elite pedigrees the last decade (from Mike Wallace to Emmanuel Sanders to Brown to Smith-Schuster). Expect Ryan Switzer and Eli Rogers to battle it out for slot work when Smith-Schuster lines up outside, leaving Washington to compete with Moncrief (and to a lesser extent Johnson) for the other wideout job. Ben Roethlisberger led the NFL in attempts by a wide margin last year with 675, so the winner could be busy.

For the second straight year Pittsburgh selected a receiver in the second round of the draft, and they are hoping history will repeat itself, with Washington potentially following the path that JuJu Smith-Schuster took in his first season. With Martavis Bryant traded to the West Coast, the rookie immediately moves to third on the depth chart behind Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown, making Washington someone worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses.