Heading into the 2024 season, the biggest hole on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster was their lack of another outside wide receiver alongside George Pickens. While the team acquired WR Mike Williams midseason, Van Jefferson still got the majority of the work on the outside, and his production through the air wasn’t all that impressive. Since 2012, just five receivers have played over 700 snaps in the regular season and caught 25 or less passes, and Jefferson is one of the five. Jefferson played 721 offensive snaps and had 24 receptions for 276 yards for the Steelers.
Along with Jefferson, other receivers on the list include Tennessee Titans WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who had 25 receptions for 397 yards in 777 snaps in 2022, former Detroit Lions WR Jeremy Ross, who had 24 receptions for 314 yards in 2014, former Buffalo Bills WR T.J. Graham with 23 receptions for 361 yards in 2013, and former New Orleans Saints WR Devery Henderson, who pulled in 22 receptions for 316 yards back in 2012. Jefferson’s yardage total is the lowest among those five, as he averaged just 16.2 yards per game.
That also comes in a 17-game season, meaning Jefferson had the lowest number of receptions and yards with 700 or more snaps over a 17-game season in NFL history. The failure to get a legitimate No. 2 receiver may wind up being one of the stories of the season for the Steelers, and the fault really can’t be placed on Jefferson. He did his job when called upon and was a solid blocking receiver, but he’s just not talented enough to be someone the team should be playing for over 700 snaps in a season.
Omar Khan made an effort to acquire WR Brandon Aiyuk before the season but that fell through, and the Williams acquisition midseason didn’t do a whole lot to change Pittsburgh’s wide receiver room. The Steelers also were dealt a blow with WR Roman Wilson getting hurt in training camp, but it would’ve been tough to rely on a rookie Day 2 pick who played largely in the slot in college to be a consistent contributor on the outside in the NFL early in his career.
Pittsburgh made an effort to bolster the trenches in the draft, but their decision to take OT Troy Fautanu in the first round might be fair to second guess. While you can’t judge Fautanu yet due to his rookie season being cut short due to injury, the Steelers took him over the likes of Brian Thomas Jr., Ladd McConkey and Keon Coleman, who all outproduced Jefferson this season.
If the Steelers weren’t going to take a receiver in the first round of the draft, they should’ve made more of an effort to acquire a legitimate No. 2 option in free agency or via trade. With their passing attack really struggling over their four-game losing streak to close the regular season, their failure to do so looks even worse.
There’s little doubt that adding at receiver will be a major focus this offseason, but it should’ve been more of a focus last offseason.
