The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver room looks like the team’s biggest weakness on paper right now, but offensive coordinator Arthur Smith doesn’t sound too concerned about the group. In an interview with Missi Matthews of Steelers.com, Smith was asked about needing a defined No. 2 receiver in his offense, and he talked about the evolution of the game and that the “constantly changing” nature of the league doesn’t make it as important.
“Every year changes. If you’re talking historical, if you’re just playing static and not moving and you were spread out and you had wide receiver one, wide receiver two, wide receiver three, things change year to year. You see it every year in this league. Guys that may be a fifth-round pick end up being the rookie of the year. Guys get another opportunity, they step up. It’s constantly changing. And then, unfortunately, guys get injured, you have to have depth. You’re working all those contingency plans all up and down the offense,” Smith said.
Obviously, not every season will you have a fifth-round rookie like Puka Nacua come in and make the impact that Smith mentioned, but offenses are evolving and changing. Smith’s offense is known for moving guys around and utilizing some motion to get guys in space, and he gave a hint to that by talking about historical offenses being “static and not moving.”
The Steelers have a lot of speed in their receiver room, with guys like Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller and Quez Watkins, and they can move around and help Pittsburgh stretch the field. Smith can also use motion and look to potentially get them open underneath, as well. Pittsburgh is also deep in their receiver room. While Smith has primarily used motion in the run game and not as much in the passing game, we could see it this year with the group that Pittsburgh has in the receiver room.
While they might lack a legitimate No. 2, they have a ton of depth options, so much so that it would be a surprise to see all these guys make the roster. Outside of Austin, Wilson, Miller and Watkins, the Steelers also have Van Jefferson, Marquez Callaway and Denzel Mims, so there are a number of guys who can play or at least be a part of a contingency plan for injuries. Cordarrelle Patterson could possibly have a role in the receiving game as well.
A trade for a No. 2 wide receiver seems less likely by the day, and the Steelers might just have to roll with what they have. If that’s the case, Smith, who has familiarity with Miller and Jefferson from his time with the Atlanta Falcons, will need to get the most out of the room to help Russell Wilson and/or Justin Fields, and ensure the Steelers have enough talent to make the postseason. I’m sure he’s already coming up with the best plan to utilize the guys that the Steelers currently have, and while it may not be the most exciting room, I’m intrigued to see what Smith can get out of the group.
