For the second consecutive year, the Steelers have used a second-round pick to add a wide receiver in the NFL Draft. Last year, that player was JuJu Smith-Schuster, who broke out for 917 yards.
This year, it's James Washington of Oklahoma State. Washington boasted huge numbers in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, including touchdown totals of 10, 10 and 13, and yardage of 1,087, 1,380 and 1,549. Each year featured highlights of him making big plays deep down the field by getting behind secondaries and winning jump balls.
We take a look at his college tape to show what the Steelers saw in Washington that separated him from the rest of this receiving class:
Washington did not help his stock with his combine performance as his numbers came out in the middle of the pack. His 4.54 time in the 40-yard dash didn't support his deep threat capabilities. The only combine event in which he placed among the top ten receivers was the sixty-yard shuttle with his 11.56 time that placed eighth.
But Washington's production on the field demonstrates his natural ability to get behind defenders with fade routes and defeat cornerbacks with quick setups and solid acceleration downfield to create separation.
Watch how he is able to get behind this press coverage by West Virginia. Once he recognizes that the cornerback is passive about using his hands, Washington supplements a stutter step with a quick jab to free up the sideline. Once he gets that one step you can see him gain separation and present the solid target for Mason Rudolph to target:
While Washington has to polish off his routes, he does flash good footwork to create the separation that helped him score 13 touchdowns in 2017. Watch how he's able to set up this slant to get in front of his man and score against Kansas State.
Washington starts off by angling to the inside of his man, breaks to the right, and then uses an aggressive jab step to plant and burst to the inside and present the window for Rudolph:
What's also important on Washington's tape is how he often catches the ball when he's working against cornerbacks. He uses his hands and catches the ball at its highest point, not relying on pinning the ball to his chest and keeping a firm grip on the ball.
While that slant wasn't challenged enough to highlight how strong Washington's hands are when he's fighting for the ball in traffic, there's plenty of those examples. Some of them happened right on the Steelers' home field as Washington has had two career games against Pitt with 296 yards and two touchdowns in 2016 and 124 yards in 2017.
Here's a jump ball more than 30 yards downfield where Washington goes up and makes a solid two-handed grab on the sideline while getting both feet inbounds, maintaining possession even while the cornerback makes contact with the ball, and never allowing the ball to jiggle from his grasp:
That's a strong combination of skills to make for a big play receiver and that's exactly what the Steelers lost when they traded Martavis Bryant. Washington is strong when contesting combat catches both on fade routes and while executing routes over the middle of the field.
Watch how Washington is unfazed by the very solid coverage on this play that challenges the ball right where it meets his hands. Washington not only makes the catch, but does so, again, by keeping it purely between his hands without pinning it to his body:
One of the major traits I look for in collegiate receivers is how they use their hands to catch the ball. Plenty of receivers are able to get open and use their athleticism to beat NCAA cornerbacks, but being able to combine that ability with the kind of catch radius that Washington displays makes him an intriguing prospect.
While some may be wondering if Washington's ability to create separation will translate to the NFL as they point to his 40 time, it's important to remember that Smith-Schuster had a similar time with a 4.54, and that Antonio Brown's 4.47 wasn't at the top of his class either (his time also was recorded outside of the combine).
The Steelers have made a reputation of finding elite and explosive playmaker wide receivers over the years. Brown, Bryant and Smith-Schuster are the most recent crew, and Washington is a player who shows the kind of explosiveness the Steelers have enjoyed pairing with Ben Roethlisberger.
