:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64673861/IMG_9369.0.jpg)
While our attention was focused on Pittsburgh Steelers players JuJu Smith-Schuster and Christian Scotland-Williamson at the NFL Academy trials in London on Tuesday, there were a number of current and former NFL players in the U.K. to take part in the event at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Along with notable names like Tahir Whitehead of the Oakland Raiders and Giovani Bernard of the Cincinnati Bengals, former Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Nate Burleson was also among those in attendance. And although in town to cover the event for the NFL Network, the 11 year veteran was in high demand with the local media as well.
With most of the questions posed to him relating to teams that are not the Steelers, he said little that would interest readers here, but it would appear that odds comparison site Oddschecker U.S. did manage to slip in one about JuJu Smith-Schuster when they caught up with him on the sidelines.
Watch our EXCLUSIVE interview with @nateburleson as the nicest guy in football talks AB v JuJu, his best teammate and where he’d put his money for Super Bowl LIV pic.twitter.com/RIoY9Hrd16
— Oddschecker US (@OddscheckerUS) July 2, 2019
Asked how he thought Smith-Schuster would fare in Pittsburgh without Antonio Brown, Burleson echoed a belief we suggested earlier in the week when he projected that the Steelers new No.1 receiver would have a better season than AB in 2019. As he told Pete Watt of Oddschecker on Tuesday.
“I think JuJu‘s going to be incredible. I feel like JuJu’s going to have a better season than Antonio. I’m not saying that right now that JuJu is a better wideout because he still has some growth to do, but he definitely has a better quarterback. And for me, if JuJu is really close to the talent and skill level of AB as a young wide receiver, what puts him over the top would be Big Ben who’s a Hall of Famer.”
But while Burleson is not wrong in his thinking given the respective talents of Ben Roethlisberger and Derek Carr by comparison to the respective talents of Smith-Schuster and Brown, he should probably expect a lukewarm reception from AB if the former Pittsburgh receiver hears what he has been saying about him in London.