Entering his third season in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is not just ascending into the number one role at wide receiver, but also into the leadership role. Outside of Eli Rogers, he is now the longest-tenured wide receiver on the team, and the third-most experienced overall at the position.
While Antonio Brown wasn’t exactly a leader in the most stereotypical sense—he was primarily a leader by example, if that—his departure, along with the absences of other veterans like Darrius Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter leave a vacuum of experience and leadership that he has to fill.