NFL free agency 2021: Best wide receivers available

3. Best free-agent wide receivers – JuJu Smith-Schuster

The most polarizing player in the top five has to be Smith-Schuster, who is a very young free agent at just 24 years old. The best is likely yet to come for Smith-Schuster, who likely needs to land in the right situation in order to succeed.

Smith-Schuster burst onto the scene in his second year in Pittsburgh, catching 111 passes for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns, allowing the Steelers to feel comfortable moving on from Antonio Brown. An injury to Ben Roethlisberger saddled Smith-Schuster with terrible quarterback play in 2019, leading to optimism a healthy Roethlisberger would help him rebound in 2020.

Smith-Schuster’s catches increased from 42 to 97 in 2020 but his yardage only went up to 831 yards, meaning he averaged a career-low 8.6 yards per reception. It is hard to tell whether a diminished Roethlisberger or poor play design contributed to the lack of explosive plays from Smith-Schuster.

Teams that are interested in Smith-Schuster will also be wary of his off-the-field antics, which sometimes involved irritating opponents by stomping on their logos at midfield. Smith-Schuster is interested in returning to the Steelers but it is unclear how much money they will have to give him thanks to the diminished salary cap.