The odds are probably pretty decent that the Pittsburgh Steelers will draft another wide receiver this year and especially one that can stretch the field at the NFL level. While at the scouting combine this year, the Steelers will once again meet with several draft hopeful players both formally and informally and while it’s hard to read too much into those interviews, it’s always fun to track the names just the same. As of Friday, you can now add former Oklahoma State wide receiver James Washington to the list of players the Steelers have met with so far in Indianapolis, according to Steel City Sports.
Washington, the 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner, caught 226 passes for 4472 yards and 39 touchdowns in his four seasons at Oklahoma State. If you do the math, he averaged a whopping 19.8 yards per reception during his college career and nearly 21 yards per reception this past season.
Washington reportedly measured in at 5110, 213-pounds at the combine and it will certainly be interesting to see how he performs in his on-the-field drills on Saturday. He’s expected to be one of the fastest wide receivers in this year’s draft class.
The Steelers could be in the market for another wide receiver this year as not only would they probably like to move on from veteran Darrius Heyward-Bey by the start of the 2018 season, fellow wide receiver Eli Rogers, who is set to become a restricted free agent, is currently rehabbing from a serious knee injury that required surgery after the season ended. On top of that, 2018 might just be the last season that wide receiver Martavis Bryant plays in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers have a relatively good record when it comes to evaluating and developing young wide receivers and it’s hard to imagine them not drafting yet another one this year. As for Washington’s chances of winding up in Pittsburgh in a few months, the Steelers would likely have to hope he falls to them in the second round if they like him enough. Washington is expected to be drafted in the first two or three rounds.
