Deshaun Watson is the leader in the clubhouse for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year, and it’s well deserved. But we also need to acknowledge the greatness that is JuJu Smith-Schuster.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is the player the Steelers didn’t know they needed
The Steelers have a gem in the rookie wideout.
Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Since getting action at wide receiver in Week 2, he’s had 24 receptions for 424 yards and four touchdowns. The most impressive part, is that he’s doing all of this at just 20 years old.
When I was 20, the best thing I did was get decent grades. He’s out here torching NFL defensive backs for touchdowns like this one, the longest in Pittsburgh Steelers history:
He kept looking back during the play, and later explained it perfectly:
The play was electric. But his celebration to pay tribute to his once-stolen, now-returned bike on the sideline afterward was a celebration we were hoping for, and he came through.
Oh yeah, and he wore cleats to commemorate the saga:
We joked that his teammate Martavis Bryant could have stolen the bike, out of frustration towards Smith-Schuster.
Bryant’s been unhappy with his role in the Steelers offense, and called out Smith-Schuster on Instagram, because this is 2017 and we air each other out on social networks.
Bryant was benched for Sunday night’s game against the Lions, while Smith-Schuster had himself a night with seven receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown.
“JuJu Smith-Schuster” is a great name on its own. But we’re going to have to start calling the young man Mr. Steal Yo Targets because of the way he’s playing, Bryant’s going to continue to have to share looks with the rook.
He’s the world’s best teammate
His teammates haven’t shown any type of aggression towards him for it, and they really have no reason to. Smith-Schuster’s been the team player of all team players.
Look at him capturing Le’Veon Bell’s photo while he does a boxing celebration:
Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images
In today’s world, we all need a go-to friend when it comes to capturing photos and videos for Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter. Smith-Schuster is clearly built for that.
He’s also willing to sacrifice himself for celebration. Le’Veon Bell and the rest of the Steelers executed a celebration where he was putting in work on a bench press.
Smith-Schuster was the bench.
We all need a support system in our life like JuJu.
He’s been key in these celebrations by the Steelers
Smith-Schuster celebrated his first touchdown by pretending to shoot dice with his Steelers teammates, similar to how Martavis Bryant did in the same game.
Since then, he and his teammates have only gotten more creative.
Against the Ravens, he celebrated with a Dragon Ball Z kamehameha:
He would later rock some Dragon Ball Z cleats, because the celebration is cool. But the cleats let us know he’s really about that DBZ life.
In Week 7, Smith-Schuster and Bell played hide-and-seek.
The group celebrations were legalized this season. Players like Bell and Antonio Brown were fined for much less last season.
But now that group celebrations are fair game, and Smith-Schuster has been added to the equation, the Steelers have given us must-watch football all season whether it’s the product, or the celebration.
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