Pro Football Focus revealed their 2019 top 50 players list this past week and you might find it interesting to know that it doesn’t included anyone from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While new Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown, formerly of the Steelers, made the PFF top 50 at No. 22 overall, Pittsburgh wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who finished the 2018 season with more receptions and receiving yards than his ex-teammate, obviously failed to make the list. It’s worth pointing out at this time that back in February, Brown failed to make PFF’s top 101 players from the 2018 NFL season, while Smith-Schuster was ranked No. 65 on that list. Below is what was written about Smith-Schuster as part of that 65th overall ranking.
Smith-Schuster has become one of the premier personalities and brands in the league just two years into his career. He finished the 2018 season with an overall grade of 81.8 which ranked 14th among all qualifying wide receivers, and his 2.02 yards per route run was good for 15th.
The six wide receivers that made PFF’s top 50 players list for 2019 are: DeAndre Hopkins (9), Julio Jones (10), Michael Thomas (12), Odell Beckham Jr. (19), Brown (22) and Keenan Allen (34).
Even though Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing in 2018, he also failed to crack PFF’s top 50 players for 2019 list. There are six quarterbacks on this year’s list and they are: Tom Brady (2), Drew Brees (5), Patrick Mahomes (6), Aaron Rodgers (17), Andrew Luck (25) and Russell Wilson (39).
In total, PFF’s list includes seven offensive linemen and of course none of them are named David DeCastro, Maurkice Pouncey or Alejandro Villanueva, all of which were voted to the Pro Bowl last year. The list also includes six defensive linemen and none of them are Cameron Heyward, who was also a Pro Bowler last season.
With the Steelers finishing last season 9-6-1, several will agree with PFF not putting anyone on Pittsburgh current roster in this year’s top 50. I certainly see that side of the argument, but even so, Roethlisberger and Smith-Schuster certainly deserve to be included and especially with Russell Wilson and Keenan Allen being included.
So, a year from now, how many Steelers players will be included in the top 50 list for 2020?
