By far, the most talked about need on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster entering the season was the WR2. George Pickens was obviously going to be the top target, but who would step up and provide something on the other side?
Van Jefferson was supposed to be the option to begin the year. After 11 games, he has just 16 receptions on 26 targets for 178 yards and a touchdown. That is barely enough production to be a solid WR3 for most teams.
TE Pat Freiermuth was also thought to be the de facto WR2 as the other go-to option within the Steelers’ passing attack. He has decent volume, with 35 receptions on 40 targets, but he has just 354 yards and three touchdowns.
WR Calvin Austin has been the most pleasant surprise. He has emerged to potentially be the team’s second-leading receiver by the end of the season. He is currently tied with Freiermuth in receiving yards at 354. He has 20 receptions on 36 targets for 354 yards and three touchdowns.
Here is a list of every team’s current second-leading receiver, either a wide receiver or a tight end.
| Team’s WR2 (TE or WR) | |||
| Team | Player | Yds/Game | TD |
| LAR | Puka Nacua | 81.7 | 1 |
| CIN | Tee Higgins | 81.5 | 4 |
| SEA | D.K. Metcalf | 77.4 | 3 |
| SFO | Jauan Jennings | 69.8 | 4 |
| LVR | Jakobi Meyers | 67.6 | 2 |
| ATL | Drake London | 64.5 | 6 |
| DET | Jameson Williams | 63.0 | 4 |
| IND | Josh Downs | 59.4 | 4 |
| NYJ | Allen Lazard | 58.9 | 5 |
| NOR | Rashid Shaheed | 58.2 | 3 |
| MIN | Jordan Addison | 57.9 | 4 |
| PHI | DeVonta Smith | 57.3 | 4 |
| MIA | Jonnu Smith | 54.0 | 4 |
| ARI | Marvin Harrison Jr. | 49.6 | 6 |
| GNB | Romeo Doubs | 48.3 | 2 |
| BAL | Rashod Bateman | 47.8 | 5 |
| JAX | Christian Kirk | 47.4 | 1 |
| HOU | Tank Dell | 47.3 | 2 |
| BUF | Keon Coleman | 46.3 | 3 |
| CHI | Rome Odunze | 45.3 | 1 |
| DEN | Devaughn Vele | 45.1 | 1 |
| TAM | Cade Otton | 44.2 | 4 |
| NYG | Darius Slayton | 43.4 | 1 |
| CLE | David Njoku | 43.1 | 2 |
| LAC | Josh Palmer | 40.3 | 1 |
| NWE | Demario Douglas | 39.8 | 1 |
| WAS | Zach Ertz | 38.8 | 3 |
| DAL | Jalen Tolbert | 37.6 | 4 |
| KAN | Xavier Worthy | 33.9 | 4 |
| PIT | Calvin Austin III | 32.2 | 3 |
| PIT | Pat Freiermuth | 32.2 | 3 |
| CAR | Xavier Legette | 30.9 | 4 |
| TEN | Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | 27.6 | 6 |
George Pickens has the eighth most receiving yards in the league right now, with 776. The issue is that the Steelers’ effective WR2, tied between Austin and Freiermuth, are tied for 30th in the league.
There are only two teams with fewer receiving yards per game from their second-best target in the passing game.
All of the fears about the WR2 position were justified, and the passing attack is feast or famine because of it. If Pickens doesn’t have a good game, the passing attack probably has an abysmal showing.
Will Mike Williams help solve those issues over the final six games? He only has one target through his first three games, but he could get more involved following the mini-bye week.
