Who do the Pittsburgh Steelers even have at wide receiver right now? Most sane, normal people might name George Pickens and Roman Wilson at best, perhaps throw in a Calvin Austin III. Individuals with minor problems might provide you with a Van Jefferson on a good day. Don’t even make direct eye contact with anybody who names Dez Fitzpatrick or Duece Watts. Because unless they’re relations or friends, who in their right mind would know these facts?
While Fitzpatrick and Watts are not favorites to make the 53-man roster, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette harbors significant concerns for the state of the wide receiver group. Not surprisingly, given that nobody has been on the trade-for-a-receiver bandwagon longer, but he was particularly harsh on Friday.
Reporters had their first opportunity to speak to new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith this past week. He repeatedly fielded questions about the team’s search for a number two receiver after the Diontae Johnson trade. By and large, one can sum up his response as saying that you don’t need one number two.
Yet that didn’t make Fittipaldo feel a whole lot better about the Steelers’ group behind Pickens. “On paper, if you look at the Steelers’ receiving corps against the other 32 teams, it’s bottom five in the NFL”, he said on 93.7 The Fan on Friday. “And that’s nothing against those guys. It’s just the reality of the situation”.
After trading Johnson, the Steelers brought in veterans Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, and Scotty Miller. They used a third-round draft pick on Roman Wilson but otherwise haven’t added to the room. They also retain Dez Fitzpatrick, Denzel Mims, and Marquez Callaway from last year’s practice squad, some of whom are veterans. It’s not much, but it’s something.
“I suppose they could piece it together with all these guys”, Fittipaldo tried to convince himself. “Maybe you don’t need a number two receiver. Arthur Smith said that, ‘We have guys of various skill sets, we have guys who are versatile, we have guys who can play in multiple positions’. I think if it comes to that, Arthur Smith is creative enough to make the most of the situation”.
But is this Pittsburgh Steelers receiving corps one of the worst in all of the NFL? I mean, they don’t exactly have Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell, and Nico Collins like in Houston. The Bengals still have Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, which is better than most. The 49ers currently have Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall. And A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and DeVante Parker in Philadelphia? How about D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett joined by Jaxon Smith-Njigba?
And the Steelers have George Pickens, Van Jefferson, and Roman Wilson?
I don’t religiously study every team’s wide receiver depth chart. If you want to try to fact-check Fittipaldo’s claim that the Steelers have a bottom-five wide receiver room, feel free. Even if it isn’t technically true, though, you can get the feeling. Their roster there behind Pickens is largely full of cast-offs who signed for nothing. That usually tells you what you need to know, but then again, do you really need that number two receiver? Perhaps not when you have a running game, plus pass-catching tight ends and running backs.
