Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan still feels good about the wide receiver room, at least publicly, but it’s hard to find any others who are confident in it behind star receiver DK Metcalf coming out of training camp.
That’s in large part due to the lingering injury to Calvin Austin III that is unknown at this point, coupled with Robert Woods’ quiet training camp. Not to mention, second-year pro Roman Wilson had a slow start to camp before coming on strong late, while Scotty Miller was the best receiver of the bunch not named Metcalf throughout the three weeks in Latrobe.
As the start of the regular season draws near, the concerns at the receiver position are growing. A move could happen in the “next 10-12 days” at the receiver position, according to Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly, but for now what the Steelers have is what you’ll get at receiver.
For The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo, who appeared on 102.5 WDVE’s morning show Thursday, the position is growing concerning, and a move needs to be made if Pittsburgh wants to give Aaron Rodgers the best shot to succeed.
“You know, it’s been disappointing that Calvin Austin has been hurt, hasn’t been able to step up. He was supposed to be wide receiver two,” DeFabo said of the wide receiver position and the concerns, according to audio via 102.5 WDVE. “Roman Wilson was really quiet, I thought, the first week to 10 days and then he perked up and started to have a nicer camp at the end. But still, he’s just a bit of an unknown after the injury concerns last year. You wonder what kind of step he takes. I would be looking for somebody because you’ve made all these other moves, you’ve already said that you feel like you’re in some type of a window.
“If that’s true, I feel like you need to give Aaron Rodgers the best opportunity to really make a run for things and surrounding him with a weapon, I think, would be an important element of that.”
The fact that Austin has been out with an undisclosed injury since Aug. 1 is concerning. In recent weeks head coach Mike Tomlin has talked about him perking up soon and not having much concern about Austin’s injury. But the more time he misses, the more concerns there are.
As the expected WR2 coming into training camp, Austin flashed early. But since he’s been down, he’s missing valuable reps with Aaron Rodgers under center.
Roman Wilson was slow out of the gate in his second training camp, but all of the offseason hard work is paying off for the Michigan product. He turned a corner recently, had a really strong showing in the preseason opener and is quietly starting to round into form as a legitimate option for Pittsburgh’s passing attack.
Miller might have been the star of training camp at the receiver position and has put himself in great position to make the 53-man roster due to his chemistry with Rodgers. But outside of that, the only other real intriguing pieces from camp at receiver are long-shot undrafted free agents Max Hurleman, Roc Taylor and Ke’Shawn Williams.
The Steelers might need some help at the receiver position. Fortunately, they have plenty of cap space, and there are some potential impactful veterans still on the market. It might be late in the process to add a weapon for Rodgers, but the depth chart might necessitate it for the Black and Gold.
