Las Vegas Raiders: 10 free agent wide receivers to target

Raiders FA WR targets: JuJu Smith-Schuster – Pittsburgh Steelers

Most of the talk around JuJu Smith-Schuster this season has been around his viral TikTok dances and the fact that he chose to do them on opposing team’s logos instead of his locker room or after touchdowns like he is supposed to. Smith-Schuster took a great deal of criticism for his antics, and much of it was deserved, but he quietly had an excellent season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After struggling with the attention of defenses in 2019 and the poor quarterback play he had to deal with, Smith-Schuster rebounded with 97 catches for 831 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020. It is not quite the season he had in 2018 with 111 catches but 1,426 yards, but he proved that he doesn’t need Antonio Brown opposite him to put up numbers.

Some of the questions about Smith-Schuster are still valid, and the primary one is if he is truly a number one receiver or will he always be a complementary player. He was second on the Steelers in targets in 2020 to Diontae Johnson and was outshined by rookie Chase Claypool for much of the season.

The former USC Trojan had just one 100-yard game in 2020 and has only broken that mark one time without Antonio Brown drawing the focus of defenses. If the Raiders are looking for a young receiver who is still improving, and Smith-Schuster is just 24, then he would be an excellent target but he may be too expensive as he is reportedly for a big-money deal as he enters his prime.

Las Vegas offers Smith-Schuster a platform to become a true star and he continues to be one of the most marketable in the NFL and playing with Derek Carr could help him put up the numbers worthy of that distinction. He has listed the Raiders as one of his potential destinations during one of his many live streams and he could make quite the splash if he made the move to Las Vegas.