James Washington Primed for Breakout Game Against the Seattle Seahawks

It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers are perhaps the NFL’s best team when it comes to drafting wide receivers. From Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster to Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders and, to a lesser extent, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton, this team simply knows how to scout receiving talent. James Washington, the team’s 2018 second-rounder, is just the latest in that long line of receiver talent, but moving forward, he could end up being just as good as anybody the team has had so far.

Despite a relatively quiet Week One effort in which he only managed two catches for 51 yards, Washington still flashed his potential in that disappointing loss. With the speed to burn any defense, Washington is a perfect deep threat across from Smith-Schuster. He may not be the most polished player out there, but with Donte Moncrief battling a dislocated finger, the opportunity is there for Washington to explode in Week Two.

Pittsburgh’s opponent this week, the Seattle Seahawks, are far from the defensive juggernaut they once were. As Andrew Fillipponi notes, Washington is primed for a big day against Seattle’s poor secondary saying,

Indeed, Seattle got roasted by a Bengals offense that featured former first-round disappointment John Ross exploding for a career-best game. Considering Ross’ career up to this point, it was shocking to see him dominate Seattle the way he did, making it obvious that the arguably more-talented Washington could play just as well.

For a Pittsburgh offense that desperately needs a No. 2 receiver to emerge, James Washington looks primed to fill the role. He has the speed to burn the Seahawks secondary and with Smith-Schuster getting most of the defense’s attention, the opportunity to play against one-on-one coverage should benefit the second-year receiver. Prepare for Washington to dominate.