What You Need To Know:

• Torpedoed by awful QB play, JuJu’s numbers fell flat in 2019. He finished outside the top 60 WRs in PPR points per game.
• JuJu battled injuries including a toe, a concussion and a knee ailment. He missed 4 games.
• Returning for a contract year, JuJu carries massive bounce back appeal if Ben Roethlisberger — now 38 — can stay healthy.

Offense crumbles

JuJu’s 2019 was the story of one bad event after another.

First in Week 2, Ben Roethlisberger went down with a season-ending elbow injury. What followed was ugly play from QBs Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges: 6.38 yards per attempt, a 62.3% completion rate and a 4.1% TD rate.

Stepping back, Pittsburgh’s offense ranked:

— 27th in total points

— 30th in total yards

— 31st in total plays

— 31st in yards per play

— 26th in pass attempts

Smith-Schuster picked up a toe injury in Week 1, only to re-aggravate it in Week 4. He played through the injury, but a bad toe and even worse QB play proved costly. He hit double digit PPR points — a low bar — in only half of his games from Week 2 to Week 10.

When Week 11 arrived, JuJu suffered a knee injury and a concussion after posting 2 catches for 21 yards. That marked JuJu’s third reported concussion as a pro. And with the knee a bigger problem, he didn’t return until the final 2 games (at Jets, at Ravens).

Still playing hurt, he totaled 4 catches for 28 yards in those matchups.

So his season settled at 42-552-3 in 12 games.Back healthy now, look for the contract-year WR to reemerge.

Ben returns

JuJu’s 2020 upside comes down to one factor: Roethlisberger’s health.

If he can play close to a full season, the support will be present for a rebound. Just consider this about JuJu’s 2018 alongside Ben: No WR in league history has topped his 111 catches during an age-22 season. Only Josh Gordon surpassed his 1,426 yards.

Yes, he played alongside Antonio Brown for that campaign. And Pittsburg…