The biggest hole on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster entering the 2024 season was at wide receiver. George Pickens was the only proven commodity, leaving them without a clear WR2 or a plan if Pickens got hurt. They felt every bit of both challenges with no real WR2 production and a big disaster for the three games Pickens was out with a hamstring injury.
One Steelers insider sees significant changes coming to the WR room this offseason.
“You could see where their receiving corps is,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac said Monday via 102.5 WDVE’s Morning Show with Randy Baumann of the Steelers’ abysmal passing effort in Week 18. “Other than Goerge Pickens, if he holds the ball, or Pat Freiermuth, you’re just not getting a lot of production. I don’t care how you spread it around.
“The whole receiving corps needs to be reconfigured. And you know, okay, fingers crossed Roman Wilson will be fine next year, but I’m sure in free agency you’ll see them go out and get one player, a proven player, and then they will draft one before the third round as well. They have to.”
As much as the Steelers want their identity to be running the football, they were one of the worst rushing teams in football on a per-carry basis. It is a passing league, and a good passing game enables a good running game. Look at most of the top rushing teams in the league and what they have in common. They all have viable passing attacks with multiple receiving threats.
The Steelers brought in several free agent WRs, but most of them are WR3 or WR4 types, like Van Jefferson, Scotty Miller, and Ben Skowronek. They traded for WR Mike Williams at the deadline, but he has barely contributed other than a game-winning catch against the Washington Commanders. Williams wasn’t doing much in New York with the Jets and Aaron Rodgers, either.
The Steelers drafted Roman Wilson with the first of their two third-round picks. That was the extent of their plan to bolster the position, hoping that improved quarterback play, an improved offensive scheme, and a new WR coach could whip something up with what was available.
They need to make a much more serious effort in the offseason to address the position. Pickens will be entering a contract year, and it remains to be seen what approach they take there. There’s a growing concern that he could be an issue if the Steelers decide to make him play out his contract year with some insiders suggesting they trade him if they don’t plan on extending him. That would leave them with a massive issue at the position.
A first-round WR isn’t out of the question and a splash free agent signing isn’t either. Unfortunately, good receivers are very pricey in free agency, and the Steelers are going to be up against the cap once they figure out their quarterback situation since they are paying Russell Wilson just $1.2 million this season.
