NFL Draft primer: With needs elsewhere, Steelers may wait to take wide receiver in later rounds

With the number of positions that could be used as reinforcements for the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the NFL Draft — tackle, defensive line and cornerback spring to mind — their traditional acquisition of a wide receiver on the second day may be tested.

Five times in the past six years, the Steelers have used a second- or third-round pick to draft a wide receiver. The exception was 2021 when the Steelers instead drafted tight end Pat Freiermuth in the second round.

This year, with so many other areas to address, the Steelers may not add a receiver until the fourth round or later.

That prospect, however, may not be such a bad thing.

“I don’t think the wide receiver group is quite what we’ve seen in years recently,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “I don’t think it’s a great receiver draft.”

That trait also bucks recent history. In 2022, six wide receivers were selected among the top 18 picks. The previous year, three were selected in the top 10 and five went in the first round. In 2020, six receivers went in the opening round.

The situation this year might not be as dire as it was in 2019 when the first wide receiver wasn’t drafted until the No. 25 overall pick and just two went in the first round. But draft experts seem to agree this year’s crop of pass catchers isn’t collectively elite.

“We’ve gotten spoiled the last few years,” ESPN analyst Todd McShay said. “The last three years, we got three or four guys each year that you’re looking at Pro Bowls, future Pro Bowls or Hall of Famers.”

Think Justin Jefferson going No. 22 overall to Minnesota in 2020. Or Ja’Marr Chase going fifth to Cincinnati and Jaylen Waddle sixth to Miami in 2021. Last year’s draft brought NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson and New Orleans’ Chris Olave in the first round plus, of course, the Steelers’ George Pickens in the second.

“We’ve had such an influx of young receivers from the draft the last few years that it’s hard to keep up with that pace,” McShay said. “This class doesn’t have that true top-10 receiver, but there is still good depth and there are still good players.”

McShay expects most receivers with first-round grades to be taken in the bottom half of the round, particularly in the 20s. And there is no consensus about which receiver will be the first taken — nor when he might be selected.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who played on the 2021 Ohio State team with Wilson and Olave, might be the top receiver chosen. He is 6-foot-1, 196 pounds and amassed 1,606 receiving yards and 95 catches on that uber-talented Buckeyes team. A hamstring injury, however, limited Smith-Njigba to three games last season.

TCU’s Quentin Johnston is bigger than Smith-Njigba at 6-3, 208 pounds. As a junior in 2022, he caught 60 passes for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns to help TCU reach the national championship game.

On the other side of the size spectrum is Boston College’s Zay Flowers, who stands 5-9 and weighs 182 pounds. Flowers did his best work as a senior, catching 78 passes for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns that ranked tied for fifth among FBS pass catchers.

A potential first-round pick who has caught the attention of Steelers fans is Jordan Addison, who spent his final year at USC after winning the Biletnikoff Award in 2021 at Pitt where he was on the receiving end of Kenny Pickett’s passes.

Although the 5-11, 173-pound Addison missed three games with injuries, he caught 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns in his lone season at USC.

“I like his agility,” McShay said. “He’s one of the best route runners in the draft. He’s a really confident pass catcher, and he’s a dynamic athlete.”

The Steelers entered the offseason with Diontae Johnson and Pickens as their starters with little proven depth behind them. After not signing a receiver in free agency, the Steelers did their due diligence in the scouting process, bringing in five wide receiver prospects for top-30 visits to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Among that group was Tennessee’s Cedric Tillman, a potential late first-round or second-round pick.

“It’s a good class,” McShay said. “It’s just that we’ve been really spoiled the last few years with these elite receivers coming in, producing right away and having huge seasons.”