After trading WR Diontae Johnson, the Pittsburgh Steelers opened up a hole at wide receiver across from George Pickens. In free agency, the team has brought in Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson, but neither inspires a ton of confidence as legitimate options to play as the team’s No. 2 wideout. Nor do the existing internal options, which include Calvin Austin III and Marquez Callaway. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo believes that ultimately, one of Austin, Jefferson or Watkins will get cut ahead of the start of the 2024 regular season.
“They’re collecting number four and number five receivers now, in my opinion. You got Watkins, you got Van Jefferson and you have Calvin Austin. I don’t view any of those guys right now as top-three receivers. So I think there’s a pretty good chance that one of those guys won’t be on the roster, come September,” Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan today.
The Steelers need at least one other legitimate wide receiver who can play across from Pickens, and at this point, that’s probably going to come via the draft. It’s a deep class for receivers, and Fittipaldo speculated that the Steelers could potentially take two receivers in the draft. If that ends up happening, the likelihood of one of Austin/Watkins/Jefferson getting released increases, and either way, there’s no guarantee all three of their jobs are safe.
In the case of Watkins and Austin, they offer similar things, and the Steelers likely don’t need to roster six receivers with none of the three offering much special teams upside, either. Austin served as Pittsburgh’s punt returner last season, but we’ll see if that remains the case with Cordarrelle Patterson in the mix next season. In addition, Patterson can also line out wide at receiver, which could eliminate the need for having an extra body at the receiver position.
Really, it’s all going to come down to how the Steelers address receiver in the draft and throughout the rest of free agency. I’d be shocked at this point if one of their first three picks wasn’t a receiver, and I’d be willing to bet it’s one of their first two selections. If they add a second receiver in the draft or through free agency, then at least one or two of the guys in the room right now probably won’t be there when the Steelers kick off in Week 1.
