It sounds in theory like it should be obvious that Mason Rudolph would have a lot of confidence in JuJu Smith-Schuster, the clear number one wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first season of the post-Antonio Brown epoch.
As a rookie in 2018, Rudolph had a ringside seat for the young man’s breakout emergence, finishing that season with 111 receptions for 1426 yards, numbers that rank second and first in Steelers history among all players other than Brown. Hines Ward’s lone triple-digit season in receptions topped out at 112.