JuJu Smith-Schuster was the most valuable Pittsburgh Steelers receiver in 2020

In a surprising move, JuJu Smith-Schuster re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the offseason. His return seems like an undeniable win for the Pittsburgh offense, but you might wonder how much he really did for them last season. After all, he ranked behind both Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool in receiving yards. However, the advanced metrics indicate that Smith-Schuster was actually the most valuable of the Steelers’ wide receivers in 2020.

All three of the Steelers’ wide receivers had excellent seasons

In 2020, Smith-Schuster, Johnson, and Claypool each played significant roles in the Steelers’ offense. As you can see in the chart below, their box scores were extremely similar.

While none of them quite reached 1,000 yards, combined they accounted for nearly half of the team’s total offensive yards and more than half of the total touchdowns. In truth, the offense wouldn’t have functioned without them.

Still, given Smith-Schuster’s reputation, you might question why he was the least successful of the three. Just two years ago — in his last complete season — he led the team with 1,426 receiving yards. And that was with Antonio Brown on the roster. Therefore, it is somewhat strange that Smith-Schuster couldn’t outperform two less-experienced players.

However, the advanced metrics reveal that Smith-Schuster, despite a slightly worse box score, was more impactful than either of his teammates.

The advanced metrics rank JuJu Smith-Schuster as the Steelers’ most valuable player last season

Smith-Schuster might not have had the box score that some might have been expecting from him in 2020, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t performing at a high level. To prove just how much he was worth to the Pittsburgh offense last season, let’s turn to the Offensive Value Metric (OVM). The OVM is a grading system created by the (Bx) Movement to evaluate players based on how much they influenced their own statistics.

Of the three wide receivers, Smith-Schuster had the highest grade at 34.67, compared to 32.38 and 28.39 for Johnson and Claypool, respectively. Those numbers might seem close, but the difference is larger than you think. When compared to all other qualifying wide receivers last season, Smith-Schuster’s grade ranks 14th, while Johnson and Claypool ranked 37th and 74th.

That is a significant drop-off. One that indicates that, despite being outgained by his teammates, Smith-Schuster had a more substantial influence on his statistics than either of them. To put it another way, while Johnson and Claypool were more productive, Smith-Schuster contributed to a higher percentage of the statistics he produced.

Comparing the weekly grades of the three Steelers’ wide receivers

For a more accurate comparison of Smith-Schuster, Johnson, and Claypool, let’s take a look  at how they performed during each week of the regular season. The charts below show their weekly grades, represented by the black dots. For comparison, the regular-season average OVM grade for wide receivers in 2020 is marked by the yellow line.

Interestingly, all three wide receivers were remarkably consistent. It’s not uncommon to see players who, regardless of their overall performance, had weeks that represent significant outliers or whose grades tended to vary dramatically from week to week. Pittsburgh’s receivers, on the other hand, had grades largely in a straight line. Smith-Schuster was actually the least consistent of the three, but his grades were generally higher than the others, explaining his better overall grade.

Examining the advanced metrics behind JuJu Smith-Schuster’s OVM grade

To explain why Smith-Schuster was more effective than his two more statistically successful teammates, we need to look at the advanced metrics involved in calculating a wide receiver’s grade.

For the most part, the three Steelers’ wide receivers had roughly similar statistics. Johnson and Claypool even outdid Smith-Schuster in a few areas. In fact, Claypool dramatically outperformed Smith-Schuster after the catch. However, there was one category in which Smith-Schuster bested his fellow Steelers’ wide receivers and by a considerable margin — his catch percentage.

In 2020, Smith-Schuster caught 75.78% of his targets, which ranked eighth among all qualifying wide receivers. Meanwhile, Johnson caught a below-average 61.11% of his targets, and Claypool came in even further behind, at just 56.88%.

In some circumstances, other factors might overshadow minor differences in catch percentage. In this case, however, Smith-Schuster outperformed Johnson and Claypool by such a dramatic amount that it single-handedly boosted his overall OVM grade far above theirs.

Simply put, while there are many factors that go into making an elite wide receiver, if they can’t catch the ball, nothing else really matters. And Smith-Schuster caught the ball far more consistently than either of his teammates.

Smith-Schuster will be a vital part of a dangerous Pittsburgh passing attack next season

The emergence of Johnson and Claypool as high-tier wide receivers is an excellent development, both for their own careers and for the Steelers in general. However, we mustn’t allow their excellence to overshadow Smith-Schuster’s talents. He might end up being outgained by one of his less-experienced teammates next season — or even both — but his contributions to the offense can’t be undervalued.

Despite lower production last season, he remained an excellent player. And if Pittsburgh is going to succeed in the 2021 playoffs where they failed a season ago, Smith-Schuster will be a critical component in that success.

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Lucas Ellinas is a writer for Pro Football Network. You can follow him on Twitter @Lucas_Ellinas.