Rookie WR Washington could be third threat

way to a stellar season with 58 receptions, 917 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Steelers don’t need Washington to become a starter, but they do need him to become that productive third receiving threat that made their offense so dangerous in previous seasons.

They sorely missed that against the Browns. SmithSchuster and Brown combined for 212 yards receiving, but the four other receivers who played combined to catch one pass for 6 yards.

Justin Hunter handled the No. 3 receiver duties in the opener. He played 51 of 84 offensive snaps and had that one catch in five targets. The only other receiver to receive a target was Ryan Switzer, who dropped the only pass thrown his way.

Smith-Schuster got his first NFL reception in his second game last season, but he did not have his first 100-yard receiving game until the eighth game against Detroit. It can take some time for young receivers to learn the nuances of the NFL game.

Last week only six rookie receivers in the league caught passes. None of them had more than two.

“If you think about it, they need to learn the offense,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “Then they need to learn all the extra hand signals and the no-huddle stuff. There’s a lot to learn. You ask guys to do a lot of things. We asked JuJu to do a lot because we moved him around and asked him to play multiple positions. I think it’s hard enough to learn one position.

“James is getting it. He’s learning. When I test him out there on the field, he gets it and he understands it. Now it’s just translating that to onthe-field stuff.”

The Steelers drafted Washington at least in part because he could immediately replace Bryant as the deep threat in the offense. Washington is at his best making plays down the field and is especially good at making contested catches.

The Steelers’ longest passing play against the Browns was a 67-yarder to Smith Schuster, but that was a short pass and long run. Roethlisberger did attempt to throw a few deep routes but with little success. He overthrew Hunter on one occasion, and another that was intended for Brown was intercepted.

Washington injured his abdominal muscle in the final preseason game against the Panthers, which limited his practice participation leading up to the Browns game. He said he got through the Browns game without aggravating the injury and hopes offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner puts more on his plate this week.

“It held up good,” Washington said. “It felt great. The training staff did a great job of getting me ready.”

Washington played 11 snaps on offense and five more on special teams. With Switzer entrenched as the punt and kick returner and Darrius Heyward-Bey a core member of the special teams, Washington might be hardpressed to stay in the lineup if tight end Vance McDonald returns this week. He missed the opener with a foot injury, and the Steelers only dressed two tight ends.

Of course, Washington can fix that by bypassing Hunter on the depth chart. But when that happens is anyone’s guess.

When he was asked Wednesday if Washington is close to making an impact, Roethlisberger said: “I hope so. We got him in there a little bit [against the Browns]. Last week he was a little banged up. Hopefully he’s better and he’ll get more reps in practice.”

Washington is trying to stay patient.

“It just comes with experience as you go on through the season,” he said. “With these guys taking me under their wing, they’ve been getting me ready. Playing against the Browns was a huge experience for me, just seeing the guys go to work and getting a feel for what to expect these next 16 weeks and hopefully more. It was a dream come true, something I’ve been thinking about since I was a kid.”