May 13, 2024, 1:21 PM ET
It’s not that they don’t have enough numbers, but outside of George Pickens there is no other who guarantees profitable statistics
PITTSBURGH — By sending a Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in March, the Pittsburgh Steelers They traded a wide receiver who accounted for 717 yards and five touchdowns in the 2023 season, good for 21 percent of all passing yards and 31 percent of yards among wide receivers and second only to George Pickens.
The five notes of Johnsonthey also came in second place on the team with Pickensaccounted for 17 percent of the team’s touchdowns. Steelers Last season.
George Pickens will continue to be the Steelers’ primary passing weapon. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
However, since then, the Steelers They have added more than 1,300 passing yards and 14 touchdown receptions to their roster. The only problem? Those numbers are the combined yards of four players: three wide receivers from the NFL and a rookie selection. If statistics are removed from Roman Wilson of his last year in Michiganthe three most prominent wide receiver additions in the Steelers In free agency they have a combined total of 512 yards and four touchdowns.
The new quarterback Russell Wilson has a clear number one receiver in George Pickenswho led the team with 1,140 yards a year ago, but beyond the third-year wide receiver, the rest of the group is a mixed bag, and the options to add another top receiver to a mix of role players are quickly disappearing.
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Of those four newcomers (Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, Scott Miller y Wilson) none has a chance of being the second recipient. The receiving corps of Steelers that remained beyond Pickens It also lacks a clear No. 2 option. The Steelers they freed Allen Robinson IIwho had 280 receiving yards and no touchdowns in his only season with the team, earlier this offseason, making the 2022 fourth-round pick, Calvin Austin IIIthe only returning receiver to record passing yards in 2023, his first season after a season-ending injury during his rookie training camp in 2022. In addition to Austinlos Steelers They also currently have five receivers on the roster who did not have a single catch in 2023.
Although the new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith often uses tight ends and alternatives as running back Cordarrelle Patterson In a system based on the ground game, the Steelers they still need a wide receiver corps to stretch the field. They have the framework for a functional, position-flex wide receiver group, one that features Pickens as a vertical threat and yards-after-catch machine, a Jefferson as another vertical option, a Wilson as a slot receiver and blocker Austin as an undersized but versatile receiver.
“As an organization, we feel the value he adds to this team,” he said. Smith after selecting Wilson last month. “I think the reality in NFL, week after week, you’re talking about maybe 1,100 plays in the regular season and hopefully more plays through February. So you need depth. And you can certainly have game plans [diferentes], and if you have an injury somewhere and you don’t have guys that can come in, you’re going to have to adapt your plan. So if you have guys that are versatile and know more than one position, that’s a lot. “It’s an added value on game day, especially as a young player.”
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Still, there isn’t necessarily a strong enough receiver on the current roster to prevent defenses from smothering Pickens. That means looking for more external candidates, of which there are few. Free agents like Odell Beckham Jr., Tyler Boyd and DJ Chark Jr. have signed with other teams since the draft NFLwhile potential candidates Brandon Aiyuk (49ers) y Courtland Sutton (Broncos) have apparently been recalled. The Steelers could go after free agents, including Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Zay Jones, Mecole Hardman, Hunter Renfrow o Michael Thomasor they could also monitor cuts after June 1 to look for other options such as possible losses in the workforce Darius Slayton and Kadarius Tony. The young and promising receiver Ben Skowronekin the final year of his rookie contract, almost hit the market, but Los Angeles Rams They reached an agreement on Thursday to send it to the Houston Texans instead of releasing it.
Los Steelers They have more than $18 million in cap space, allowing them monetary flexibility to make a somewhat significant move at the position, and after the final round of the NFL draft NFLgeneral manager Omar Khan left the door open to add another significant player when asked about drafting Wilson It was enough to complete the group of receivers.
“We’ll see,” he said. Khan. “I said it before, if there is ever an opportunity to improve the team, we will look at it and, if it makes sense, we will look for it. But we restructured the agreement of Alex [Highsmith]and it puts us in a position to be flexible with some things if there is an opportunity to do something.”
But the longer they wait Steelersthe fewer options will be available.
2024-05-13 17:21:00
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