The Pittsburgh Steelers still have the better part of a month to plug holes ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. Why not plug the hole they opened on their own at wide receiver by trading one of their best players? The Steelers sent Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for CB Donte Jackson, including a minor pick swap.
Aditi Kinkhabwala doesn’t think it’s likely they’ll take the veteran route to address the hole at wide receiver. At least, she doesn’t see them taking that path before waiting to see how the draft plays out there.
“I think that the Steelers have the ability to sit and wait a little bit and see what they can do in the draft,” she told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan this week. “I think there’s a lot of institutional confidence in their ability to draft wide receivers, and as we know, wide receiver is truly an easy position to have an immediate impact as a rookie.”
She added, “I think there’s no urgency to rush right now and lock yourself into a veteran player.”
Notably, the Steelers appear to have explored veteran options. First of all, they’ve already signed a pair of them: Van Jefferson and (soon official) Quez Walker. That doesn’t even include Cordarrelle Patterson, who can play the position.
Beyond that, they reportedly planned to meet with free agent Mike Williams, though he signed with the New York Jets before they had the opportunity to bring him in. There are also reports that they have explored the possibility of adding Tyler Boyd, which appears to be going nowhere.
At the least, the Steelers are evidently keeping their ears to the ground but not rushing into things. Perhaps if a particularly good opportunity presents itself, they will seize upon it, but otherwise, they seem content to wait.
Not that the need isn’t there. With Johnson gone, George Pickens is the only notable wide receiver left. Calvin Austin III contributed sparsely last year, and Jefferson and Watkins are nobody to write home about. Even Miles Boykin remains a free agent, and I’m not about to exaggerate the merits of a Denzel Mims.
While new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith historically disfavors 11 personnel groupings, every offense today needs wide receivers and wide receiver depth. But the Steelers trust their draft procedure in identifying talent at this particular position.
Assuming they don’t hit as high as they would like in the draft, veteran free agents will be available afterward. Guys like Boyd and Hunter Renfrow are still out there, and teams will cut veterans after the draft. The Steelers found OLB Markus Golden and ILB Kwon Alexander after the draft just last year.
