3 options the Steelers have to replace Martavis Bryant

In a previous article, I went into detail about how the Steelers won’t miss Martavis Bryant. What I didn’t dig into, is “who” will actually replace the former star receiver.

Note the use of the word “former”. While many of us have great memories of Bryant’s first two seasons of pro football (where he caught 14 touchdowns in 21 games) the player’s stats took a big dip after sixteen months away from football.

Bryant’s 2017 season matched his 50-catch 2015 season total, but his yards dropped 162 yards from 765 to 603. JuJu Smith-Schuster, whose 58 catches and 917 yards in his rookie campaign were more than Bryant ever had in a single season, combined with Martavis’ dip in production, made the latter expendable.

While Smith-Schuster will definitely be a starter and play a major role in the Steelers offense this upcoming season, he’s not Bryant’s replacement. With Eli Rogers unsigned and rehabbing an injury, Smith-Schuster will likely assume slot receiver duties while splitting some time on the outside, where Bryant played.

However, someone else will need to take the filed in multi-receiver sets. Here are three players currently on the Steelers roster who have an opportunity to take those snaps which were previously allocated for Martavis Bryant.

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James Washington

When Washington’s name was announced a day following the trade of Martavis Bryant, Steelers Nation let out a big sigh of relief.

While he’s not as big as Bryant (Washington is six-feet tall) many analysts had a first-round grade on the Oklahoma State receiver. A former state champion track athlete in high school, and a deep-ball threat and route running machine in college, Washington amassed 226 receptions for 4,472 yards and 39 touchdowns in four seasons with the Cowboys.

He caught at least 70 passes in his last two years and had three 1,000-yard receiving seasons in college as well. Therefore, it stands to reason that Washington will be given every opportunity to play from day one. However, should he be held back like Martavis Bryant, and even Sammie Coates were during their rookie seasons, a couple of other players could compete for playing time.

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Darrius Heyward-Bey

He only had two receptions in all of 2017, but DHB most closely resembles the player Bryant was. Heyward-Bey was Bryant’s replacement during the latter’s four-game suspension in 2015. With Martavis out the first five weeks (an additional game due to injury) that year, Darrius filled in nicely with 17 catches for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Heyward-Bey also stands two inches taller than Washington and has had success running the football, much like Bryant. Despite playing a limited number of snaps, the veteran receiver has had a rushing touchdown in each of the last two seasons.

There’s also no denying Heyward-Bey’s speed, which prior to his arrival in Pittsburgh was his calling card for continuing to be employed. His hands were never thought to be the best, but the former first-round pick had some fairly miserable quarterbacks throwing the ball his way during his days as an Oakland Raider.

While it’s more plausible that DHB retains a spot on the roster due to his selfless special teams play, he is a capable stop-gap to bridge between Bryant’s departure and Washington’s arrival.

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Justin Hunter

A former second-round pick as well (taken by the Titans in 2013) there was a lot of buzz surrounding Hunter during last year’s offseason workouts and training camp. That hype slowly faded as Bryant was gradually reinstated by the league for participation in different phases of those workouts which, in turn, caused Hunter to lose reps in both games and practices.

Therefore the six-foot-four-inch tall receiver went unnoticed for most of the 2017 season, catching only four balls for 23 yards. He had a single touchdown (pictured) that was a highlight reel catch against Texans CB Kevin Johnson.

Hunter, who was a free agent this offseason, returns on a one-year deal. He appears to be in good favor with Ben Roethlisberger and coming back after little playing time, as well as making the 2017 roster (which was stacked with talent at the position) both bode well for Hunter to compete for a larger role in 2018.


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