The Steelers are now in their offseason after failing to reach the playoffs in 2022, coming up just a game short of sneaking in as the seventh seed. They needed help in week 18 and only got some of it, so instead they sat home and watched the playoffs with the rest of us.
On tap is figuring out how to be on the field in January and February instead of being a spectator. They started out 2-6, digging a hole that proved too deep to dig out of even if they managed to go 7-2 in the second half of the year.
Starting from the end of the regular season and leading all the way up to the beginning of the 2023 season, there are plenty of questions that need answered, starting with who will be the offensive coordinator. Which free agents will be kept? Who might be let go due to their salary? How might they tackle free agency with this new front office? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout this offseason, as we have for many years.
Question: Will the Steelers draft yet another wide receiver by the end of the second round?
Nearly ever year since 2017, the Steelers have drafted a wide receiver in the second round, or as close as they could get to it. JuJu Smith-Schuster was first, then James Washington a year later, followed by Diontae Johnson as a very early third-round pick after trading their second in 2019. Chase Claypool followed, then after a brief despite with tight end Pat Freiermuth, it was back on the train in 2022 with George Pickens.
Pittsburgh has two second-round picks this year, as well as their first. They have three cracks at it this time. Is one of those picks going to be a wide receiver? Former Pitt product Jordan Addison seems to be the closest to a consensus favorite at this point, but it seems to be the prevailing opinion that the great strength of this class at the position is in round two.
And in spite of these many high draft picks, the Steelers still need wide receivers. They have Pickens and Johnson, but Washington is gone. They just traded Claypool for one of those second-round picks. Smith-Schuster is in Kansas City.
While they have Calvin Austin III as a 2022 fourth-round pick looking to contribute next year, it’s impossible for them to imagine not addressing the wide receiver position pretty prominently this offseason. They can’t count on an Anthony Miller or a Steven Sims being what they need.
But they don’t have to get their wide receiver in the top 63 picks. They don’t even have to get a receiver in the draft. They could add a veteran in free agency, and frankly that might be a wise course of action rather than worrying about another skill position player that needs to develop.
