With Antonio Brown in Oakland, Pittsburgh needs another wide receiver to step up next to JuJu Smith-Schuster. They signed Donte Moncrief, and that's one possibility, but so is last year's second-rounder James Washington (and this year's third-rounder Diontae Johnson). Who will be the guy?
Washington has a year in the offense and working with Ben Roethlisberger, so there's that. The Steelers drafted Washington in the second round a year ago, which at the time dovetailed with the trade of Martavis Bryant (to Oakland, as it happens). But perhaps they also had an inkling a split with Brown was coming soon.
But he'll need to show a lot more than he did as a rookie. In a couple of late-season games, he caught 3 for 65 against New England and 3 for 64 against Cincinnati. But the overall numbers weren't good. Among all wideouts with at least 30 targets a year ago, only three had a worse catch rate than Washington (and nobody is counting on them to be viable players in 2019).
| WIDE RECEIVER CATCH RATES, 2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tm | Tgt | Rec | Ctch% | Yds | TD |
| Michael Thomas | NOR | 147 | 125 | 85.0% | 1405 | 9 |
| Ryan Switzer | PIT | 44 | 36 | 81.8% | 253 | 1 |
| Tyler Lockett | SEA | 70 | 57 | 81.4% | 965 | 10 |
| Phillip Dorsett | NWE | 42 | 32 | 76.2% | 290 | 3 |
| Cole Beasley | DAL | 87 | 65 | 74.7% | 672 | 3 |
| Danny Amendola | MIA | 79 | 59 | 74.7% | 575 | 1 |
| Albert Wilson | MIA | 35 | 26 | 74.3% | 391 | 4 |
| Adam Thielen | MIN | 153 | 113 | 73.9% | 1373 | 9 |
| Chester Rogers | IND | 72 | 53 | 73.6% | 485 | 2 |
| Rashard Higgins | CLE | 53 | 39 | 73.6% | 572 | 4 |
| Jarius Wright | CAR | 59 | 43 | 72.9% | 447 | 1 |
| Cooper Kupp | LAR | 55 | 40 | 72.7% | 566 | 6 |
| Sammy Watkins | KAN | 55 | 40 | 72.7% | 519 | 3 |
| Adam Humphries | TAM | 105 | 76 | 72.4% | 816 | 5 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | 98 | 71 | 72.4% | 868 | 4 |
| Taylor Gabriel | CHI | 93 | 67 | 72.0% | 688 | 2 |
| Dontrelle Inman | IND | 39 | 28 | 71.8% | 304 | 3 |
| Jordy Nelson | OAK | 88 | 63 | 71.6% | 739 | 3 |
| Keenan Allen | LAC | 136 | 97 | 71.3% | 1196 | 6 |
| Will Fuller | HOU | 45 | 32 | 71.1% | 503 | 4 |
| Alshon Jeffery | PHI | 92 | 65 | 70.7% | 843 | 6 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | 163 | 115 | 70.6% | 1572 | 11 |
| Tyler Boyd | CIN | 108 | 76 | 70.4% | 1028 | 7 |
| Seth Roberts | OAK | 64 | 45 | 70.3% | 494 | 2 |
| Mohamed Sanu | ATL | 94 | 66 | 70.2% | 838 | 4 |
| Amari Cooper | 2TM | 107 | 75 | 70.1% | 1005 | 7 |
| Calvin Ridley | ATL | 92 | 64 | 69.6% | 821 | 10 |
| Stefon Diggs | MIN | 149 | 102 | 68.5% | 1021 | 9 |
| Julian Edelman | NWE | 108 | 74 | 68.5% | 850 | 6 |
| Doug Baldwin | SEA | 73 | 50 | 68.5% | 618 | 5 |
| Brandin Cooks | LAR | 117 | 80 | 68.4% | 1204 | 5 |
| Keke Coutee | HOU | 41 | 28 | 68.3% | 287 | 1 |
| Ryan Grant | IND | 52 | 35 | 67.3% | 334 | 1 |
| D.J. Moore | CAR | 82 | 55 | 67.1% | 788 | 2 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | PIT | 166 | 111 | 66.9% | 1426 | 7 |
| DaeSean Hamilton | DEN | 45 | 30 | 66.7% | 243 | 2 |
| Demarcus Robinson | KAN | 33 | 22 | 66.7% | 288 | 4 |
| Geronimo Allison | GNB | 30 | 20 | 66.7% | 303 | 2 |
| Julio Jones | ATL | 170 | 113 | 66.5% | 1677 | 8 |
| Demaryius Thomas | 2TM | 89 | 59 | 66.3% | 677 | 5 |
| Robert Woods | LAR | 130 | 86 | 66.2% | 1219 | 6 |
| Taywan Taylor | TEN | 56 | 37 | 66.1% | 466 | 1 |
| Nelson Agholor | PHI | 97 | 64 | 66.0% | 736 | 4 |
| Laquon Treadwell | MIN | 53 | 35 | 66.0% | 302 | 1 |
| Davante Adams | GNB | 169 | 111 | 65.7% | 1386 | 13 |
| Golden Tate | 2TM | 113 | 74 | 65.5% | 795 | 4 |
| Dede Westbrook | JAX | 101 | 66 | 65.3% | 717 | 5 |
| Willie Snead | BAL | 95 | 62 | 65.3% | 651 | 1 |
| Mike Williams | LAC | 66 | 43 | 65.2% | 664 | 10 |
| Kendrick Bourne | SFO | 66 | 42 | 63.6% | 487 | 4 |
| Chris Hogan | NWE | 55 | 35 | 63.6% | 532 | 3 |
| Tre'Quan Smith | NOR | 44 | 28 | 63.6% | 427 | 5 |
| Tyreek Hill | KAN | 137 | 87 | 63.5% | 1479 | 12 |
| Trent Taylor | SFO | 41 | 26 | 63.4% | 215 | 1 |
| T.Y. Hilton | IND | 120 | 76 | 63.3% | 1270 | 6 |
| Christian Kirk | ARI | 68 | 43 | 63.2% | 590 | 3 |
| Tyrell Williams | LAC | 65 | 41 | 63.1% | 653 | 5 |
| Mike Evans | TAM | 138 | 86 | 62.3% | 1524 | 8 |
| Randall Cobb | GNB | 61 | 38 | 62.3% | 383 | 2 |
| Odell Beckham | NYG | 124 | 77 | 62.1% | 1052 | 6 |
| Chris Godwin | TAM | 95 | 59 | 62.1% | 842 | 7 |
| Antonio Brown | PIT | 168 | 104 | 61.9% | 1297 | 15 |
| Jakeem Grant | MIA | 34 | 21 | 61.8% | 268 | 2 |
| Sterling Shepard | NYG | 107 | 66 | 61.7% | 872 | 4 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | 112 | 69 | 61.6% | 734 | 6 |
| Chris Conley | KAN | 52 | 32 | 61.5% | 334 | 5 |
| Robert Foster | BUF | 44 | 27 | 61.4% | 541 | 3 |
| Anthony Miller | CHI | 54 | 33 | 61.1% | 423 | 7 |
| Curtis Samuel | CAR | 65 | 39 | 60.0% | 494 | 5 |
| Dante Pettis | SFO | 45 | 27 | 60.0% | 467 | 5 |
| Isaiah McKenzie | 2TM | 30 | 18 | 60.0% | 179 | 0 |
| A.J. Green | CIN | 77 | 46 | 59.7% | 694 | 6 |
| Maurice Harris | WAS | 47 | 28 | 59.6% | 304 | 0 |
| Jamison Crowder | WAS | 49 | 29 | 59.2% | 388 | 2 |
| Kenny Golladay | DET | 119 | 70 | 58.8% | 1063 | 5 |
| Zach Pascal | IND | 46 | 27 | 58.7% | 268 | 2 |
| Allen Robinson | CHI | 94 | 55 | 58.5% | 754 | 4 |
| Equanimeous St. Brown | GNB | 36 | 21 | 58.3% | 328 | 0 |
| Corey Davis | TEN | 112 | 65 | 58.0% | 891 | 4 |
| Kenny Stills | MIA | 64 | 37 | 57.8% | 553 | 6 |
| Josh Gordon | 2TM | 71 | 41 | 57.7% | 737 | 4 |
| Allen Hurns | DAL | 35 | 20 | 57.1% | 295 | 2 |
| Paul Richardson | WAS | 35 | 20 | 57.1% | 262 | 2 |
| Ted Ginn | NOR | 30 | 17 | 56.7% | 209 | 2 |
| Deonte Thompson | 2TM | 30 | 17 | 56.7% | 161 | 0 |
| Marvin Jones | DET | 62 | 35 | 56.5% | 508 | 5 |
| Josh Doctson | WAS | 78 | 44 | 56.4% | 532 | 2 |
| Tim Patrick | DEN | 41 | 23 | 56.1% | 315 | 1 |
| Quincy Enunwa | NYJ | 68 | 38 | 55.9% | 449 | 1 |
| Devin Funchess | CAR | 79 | 44 | 55.7% | 549 | 4 |
| DeSean Jackson | TAM | 74 | 41 | 55.4% | 774 | 4 |
| Tajae Sharpe | TEN | 47 | 26 | 55.3% | 316 | 2 |
| Zay Jones | BUF | 102 | 56 | 54.9% | 652 | 7 |
| Torrey Smith | CAR | 31 | 17 | 54.8% | 190 | 2 |
| Josh Reynolds | LAR | 53 | 29 | 54.7% | 402 | 5 |
| Jarvis Landry | CLE | 149 | 81 | 54.4% | 976 | 4 |
| Antonio Callaway | CLE | 79 | 43 | 54.4% | 586 | 5 |
| Keelan Cole | JAX | 70 | 38 | 54.3% | 491 | 1 |
| Michael Crabtree | BAL | 100 | 54 | 54.0% | 607 | 3 |
| Donte Moncrief | JAX | 89 | 48 | 53.9% | 668 | 3 |
| Marquise Goodwin | SFO | 43 | 23 | 53.5% | 395 | 4 |
| Terrelle Pryor | 2TM | 30 | 16 | 53.3% | 252 | 2 |
| Robby Anderson | NYJ | 94 | 50 | 53.2% | 752 | 6 |
| Pierre Garcon | SFO | 46 | 24 | 52.2% | 286 | 1 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | GNB | 73 | 38 | 52.1% | 581 | 2 |
| DeVante Parker | MIA | 47 | 24 | 51.1% | 309 | 1 |
| Courtland Sutton | DEN | 84 | 42 | 50.0% | 704 | 4 |
| David Moore | SEA | 53 | 26 | 49.1% | 445 | 5 |
| Jermaine Kearse | NYJ | 76 | 37 | 48.7% | 371 | 1 |
| Aldrick Robinson | MIN | 35 | 17 | 48.6% | 231 | 5 |
| Michael Gallup | DAL | 68 | 33 | 48.5% | 507 | 2 |
| Marcell Ateman | OAK | 31 | 15 | 48.4% | 154 | 1 |
| DJ Chark | JAX | 32 | 14 | 43.8% | 174 | 0 |
| John Brown | BAL | 97 | 42 | 43.3% | 715 | 5 |
| James Washington | PIT | 38 | 16 | 42.1% | 217 | 1 |
| Kelvin Benjamin | 2TM | 67 | 25 | 37.3% | 380 | 1 |
| Chad Williams | ARI | 46 | 17 | 37.0% | 171 | 1 |
| John Ross | CIN | 58 | 21 | 36.2% | 210 | 7 |
Moncrief, note, wasn't dramatically better last year, although at least he has the excuse of working with Blake Bortles.
Rookie wideouts not doing much isn't a big deal; Brown himself didn't do much when he was a rookie in Pittsburgh. Washington will get a crash course in the preseason, so maybe. He's working with a great quarterback and there's a great No. 1 wideout across the field to take attention away from him.
But you're definitely going pretty much sight unseen if you select Washington and hope you're getting a viable fantasy starter.
--Andy Richardson