With the Brandon Aiyuk saga now finally wrapped up, the Pittsburgh Steelers head into the 2024 season with a weakness at wide receiver. It might be too late to make a significant addition to the position for the 2024 season, but the 2025 NFL Draft will present opportunities to do just that. To celebrate the start of college football season, Pro Football Network’s Derek Tate wrote up a Saturday mock draft.
Agreeing that Pittsburgh needs help at at receiver, he projects the Steelers to take Arizona wideout Tetairoa McMillan.
In his mock, the Steelers had the 14th overall selection, so it does not seem as if Tate has much confidence in Pittsburgh’s 2024 squad making the postseason, though Tate explains the draft order came from a simulator and not his own projections.
Wherever the Steelers end up drafting next spring, McMillan is a player they should keep an eye on. McMillan blossomed during his sophomore season in 2023, recording 1,402 receiving yards on 90 receptions, good for an impressive 15.6 yards per reception. McMillan managed to score 10 times throughout the season as well.
One of the reasons McMillan would be such an exciting addition for Pittsburgh is his combination of size and athleticism. Standing at 6-5, 210 lbs. he’s an obvious red-zone threat. His size gives him a massive catch radius, and he can win 50/50 balls consistently.
McMillan is a great route runner. He doesn’t have shocking speed, but he is able to accelerate rather quickly, which helps him break out of routes and get open. Sometimes, larger receivers coming out of college rely on their size and struggle to get open, so it is encouraging to see McMillan already developing these skills.
Those traits had Tate viewing him as a perfect complement to George Pickens.
“McMillian projects as an instant impact outside receiver with impressive suddenness and acceleration for a player at 6’5” 210 pounds,” Tate wrote. “His body control and catch radius alongside George Pickens could make life treacherous on secondaries with smaller DBs who are ill-equipped to handle a dangerous contested-catch duo like this.”
However, there are limitations to his game. While McMillan is quick in short areas, he lacks true top-end, breakaway speed. Given his height, he has the tendency to stand up too high against press-coverage. These traits sometimes make it difficult for him to beat the press off the line of scrimmage.
Pittsburgh does have some capable pass-catchers currently on the roster, but they lack a surplus of talent. Pickens broke out in a big way in 2023 and certified himself as the team’s first option.
The Steelers also have Pat Freiermuth at tight end, who’s shown he can be a difference-maker as well. Pittsburgh is counting on a consistent season from Van Jefferson, and the Steelers also have youngsters such as Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III in the fold.
Perhaps Jefferson, Wilson or Austin can prove themselves as a reliable second option in 2024. One of those players could take a leap, or that could prove to be wishful thinking instead. If the latter ends up being true, McMillan would be an excellent selection in the 2025 draft.
