Buy Or Sell: The Steelers have a bigger need at cornerback right now than at wide receiver.
Explanation: Before the draft, I posed the idea that the Steelers may have a bigger need at cornerback than wide receiver. Since then, they used a third-round pick on a wide receiver and a sixth-round pick on a cornerback. That cornerback, Ryan Watts, may end up moving to safety in time, but they are also intrigued by UDFA Beanie Bishop Jr. He may be their leading candidate to start in the slot by the time training camp opens.
Buy:
You could have made a legitimate argument before the draft that cornerback was a bigger need for the Steelers. It definitely is now after they added WR Roman Wilson. They simply do not have three cornerbacks who deserve to be on the field right now. At least at wide receiver, they have JAGs to work with from Calvin Austin III down to Denzel Mims. And you have Van Jefferson in between.
At cornerback, are you really going to trust a rookie college free agent in the slot, or Josiah Scott? There’s a reason these guys are in the positions they’re in. Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins are players who’ve had regular jobs and roles throughout their careers. And that’s all you need in Arthur Smith’s offense.
Sell:
I swear, I’m exhausted of the idea that wide receivers and depth are somehow not important in Smith’s offenses. Tell me something, how does this offense move if George Pickens gets hurt? What happens when teams game plan to take him out? Are we going to get another Mike Tomlin postgame speech about how well the defense did covering him in a zero-target game?
And where are those targets going to go? Pat Freiermuth and Jaylen Warren? That’s not getting the Steelers down the field in a hurry. Then you’re running into stacked boxes when the defense doesn’t have to respect your passing game.
And the Steelers do not have a wide receiver who will discourage defenses from triple-teaming George Pickens, quite frankly. I mean, Calvin Austin III? Van Jefferson? Marquez Calloway? Would these players even make other teams’ rosters? Let’s abolish this notion that Arthur Smith only needs one wide receiver, especially because that’s all he has right now, at least until Roman Wilson is able to prove himself.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL Draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
