Is there a diamond in the rough on the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver depth chart behind George Pickens?
Ask most football fans who don’t root for the Steelers to name a wide receiver on the roster not named George Pickens and they most likely fail. Hell, if you ask most Steelers fans to name four receivers not named George Pickens, they’ll fail, too. Maybe you’ll get rookie Roman Wilson, and a lot of people will get Calvin Austin III, as well. Other than that, you’ll probably see a hodgepodge of randomness at best.
But let’s round out the depth chart for the sake of conversation. This offseason, the Steelers signed Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, and Scotty Miller as veteran free agents. They also retain Denzel Mims, Marquez Calloway, Dez Fitzpatrick, and Duece Watts from last year’s practice squad. And we can’t forget about Keilahn Harris, if you knew his name to forget in the first place, that is.
Throw Austin within that group and then answer this question: are any of them worth a damn? Do the Steelers have a diamond in the rough on that depth chart? More to the point, will the Steelers get quality production from any receiver other than Pickens and Wilson?
Some of these guys are veterans who have had a productive season or two in the past, like Jefferson. There are players who have pedigree, like Mims, who may not have had the best situation in which to thrive. And you always have to factor in the potential for growth over time.
Even with all that, it feels like asking a lot to expect any of these players to make much of an impact. And historically, Arthur Smith’s offenses haven’t exactly been accommodating for third receivers. It’s hard to say how significant a role the Steelers expect anybody on this list to play. But even if for depth purposes alone, you’d like to know there’s somebody who can step up to the plate. At least, I’d like to know.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wild Card Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
