2018 SCU Awards: Steelers Offensive Player of the Year
Steel City Underground presents the 3rd annual SCU Awards. Our panel of contributors all voted on various awards for the Steelers based on their performances in 2018.
Comment and let us know if you agree or disagree with our winners and nominees.
Offensive player of the year has many qualified candidates. Antonio Brown, despite his antics, was as good as ever in 2019 – even setting a personal record for touchdowns in a season. James Conner played better than anybody predicted and was a bellcow who didn’t make anybody miss Le’Veon Bell.
The award goes to the player who won over the hearts of Steeler nation with both his play and lovable personality.
Offensive Player of the Year: JuJu Smith-Schuster
JuJu Smith-Schusters wins the award, beating out heavy competition from star receiver Antonio Brown and fellow sophomore James Conner.
JuJu had extraordinary production his rookie season and rode that momentum into an even better year two. He very quietly put him 1426 yards – ranked 8th in the league. There’s no doubt in my mind there would be much more buzz around him if not for sharing the spotlight with Antonio Brown. JuJu is still young but he’s proving to be a future star in this league.
Unlike former draft standouts like Mike Wallace, JuJu’s game is built around his route-running and toughness rather than just being a one-trick pony. All throughout the season we saw JuJu making contested catches and making big plays.
It will be interesting to see if JuJu can continue to produce like this once Brown is eventually gone, but production like his is rarely a fluke.
The votes: JuJu Smith-Schuster (6), James Conner (2), Ben Roethlisberger (1), Antonio Brown (1)
Stay tuned as we continue to roll out the remaining SCU awards!
