Smith-Schuster ready to lead

JuJu Smith-Schuster was trying to find some middle ground between being appreciative for Antonio Brown’s influence while also acknowledging things should be considerably calmer for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019. The prolific but petulant Brown now is catching passes in Oakland following a high-profile divorce that included Brown taking thinly veiled public shots at Smith-Schuster.

“The chemistry is on point,” Smith-Schuster said Wednesday. “Everyone is on the same page. Everyone is communicating. There’s really no — how do you say? — drama in our locker room.”

At least not the kind Brown manufactured with regularity during his final two seasons in Pittsburgh, ones that coincided with Smith-Schuster’s ascent from the youngest player in the NFL to firsttime Pro Bowler. Brown’s influence played a major role in Smith-Schuster’s rapid development, lessons Smith-Schuster will hold close now that he’s the longest-tenured wide receiver in the room.

“I think everyone picked it up, not only us as receivers but everybody on the team,” Smith-Schuster said. “They all see how AB worked. They seen how he came out here every day and he just ran hard, 100 percent.”

It’s all the other stuff — from Brown’s occasional social media meltdowns to his hot/cold relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — that Smith-Schuster and the Steelers want to avoid going forward. Replacing Brown’s production on the field will be almost impossible. He’s the only player in NFL history to have six straight seasons with at least 100 receptions.

Yet Smith-Schuster is optimistic the group Brown left behind — one that includes second-year man James Washington, free agent signee Donte Moncrief, and thirdround pick Diontae Johnson to go with Eli Rogers and Ryan Switzer — can still be effective. Oh, and do it quietly.

“There’s so much motivation for everyone,” Smith-Schuster said. “You think about last year, having AB and Le’Veon (Bell) and this year not having those two guys, two great players. I think for this year we’ve got guys like Moncrief, James Conner, it’s his time now. It’s always been his time. We always want to rock with what we got in the locker room, so at the end of the day, whoever is in that huddle, 11 man, that’s what we’re going to rock with.”