The Pittsburgh Steelers are very much in the wide receiver market, and the 2025 NFL Draft seems like a good place to shop. In fact, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes this year’s class may not be getting its due. Most years lately, it seems like the group just gets stronger and stronger. While this class is low on high-end superstars, it has much else to offer.
“I think sometimes when you don’t have the Marvin Harrison types at the head of the class you just downgrade the whole class, just because you have this visual of what a modern-day receiver class should look like”, the Steelers beat writer said on the North Shore Drive podcast of the 2025 wide receiver draft class.
Many believe the Steelers will draft a wide receiver in the first round, and indeed already have one picked out. The most popular name mocked to the Steelers is Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka, which is one way to go. While he might not be the next Justin Jefferson, he has drawn comparisons to former college teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
“Even though you don’t have maybe that future All-Pro in this class, there are plenty of guys who are gonna be starter-quality guys”, Fittipaldo said. He mentioned Egbuka as one draft option for the Steelers, as well as Matthew Golden, who shined at the Combine. “I think it’s a good class, and some people are not giving it the props that it deserves”.
The Steelers very frequently draft a wide receiver in the second or third round and could easily do so again. They have done so in four out of the past six draft classes, including last year with Roman Wilson. A third-round pick, Wilson basically redshirted last year but could play a big role next season.
At this rate, they had better hope so, because they don’t have much beyond George Pickens. Wilson and Calvin Austin III are the only other wide receivers the Steelers have under contract, though they should add at least one veteran before the draft.
There are certainly some high-potential wide receivers in this draft class, and the Steelers may have a shot at one or two of them in the first round. If you include Egbuka in that group, that is certainly a possibility. And if they are really committed to doing so, they can trade up. But Fittipaldo insists that they will have options if they wait, too.
“You’re gonna have guys in that second round that are gonna be within the range when the Steelers pick, and maybe even the third round, guys who are gonna be able to come in and help you right away”, he said. Of course, plans don’t always work out as hoped, as we saw with Roman Wilson last year. But that was chiefly due to injuries, and that is an unpredictable variable.
The only thing that is a near certainty is that the Steelers have to come out of the draft with a starting-caliber wide receiver. Whether that comes in the first round or the fourth, they have to find somebody with whom to build a future. They know this as well as any of us do, or at least that is what they claim.
