With wide receiver a clear position of need for the Steelers heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, there’s much debate about what Pittsburgh should do. Trading Diontae Johnson to the Panthers opened up a hole at WR2 on the depth chart behind George Pickens.
Few wondered about Pittsburgh’s strategy in the past, especially when it came to receivers. The Steelers looked to the draft for wideouts for over a decade with GM Kevin Colbert in charge of building the roster.
However, the ascension of Omar Khan to general manager in 2022 has created uncertainty, mostly due to some uncharacteristic moves, such as completely shaking up the quarterback room and moving on from a former first-round pick (Kenny Pickett) early in his tenure.
No matter anyone’s opinion about any particular decision, it’s obvious Khan is operating with a sense of urgency for a team that has not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since the 2016 season.
The path for Khan to find Johnson’s replacement doesn’t have to be complicated or require any magic.
Rumors have swirled about the Steelers’ interest in trading for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. His agent has publicly denied his client seeks a trade.
Aiyuk would be a major addition to any team. The former first-round pick — who’s only 26 and about to enter his prime — is coming off a huge season in which he had 75 catches, 1,342 yards and seven TD receptions.
While bringing in a player of Aiyuk’s caliber would help make the Steelers’ offense far more explosive than it has been in recent years, it’s not necessary. Any team that trades for Aiyuk probably must give up multiple draft picks and perhaps proven talent, too.
Pittsburgh has glaring needs at center, defensive line and in the secondary, so it can’t afford to relinquish what could be required in a blockbuster trade.
And, most importantly, the 2024 draft class is loaded with top-quality receivers, including Florida’s Ricky Pearsall, South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley, Rice’s Luke McCaffrey, Texas’ Adonai Mitchell and Southern Cal’s Tahj Washington. Pittsburgh has used six of its 24 official pre-draft visits on them.
In front of those playmakers on draft boards are Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze. Each will go in the first round, per Pro Football Focus’s latest mock draft.
Pittsburgh’s best option is to wait for a quality receiver to fall to them in the draft.
“History tells me the Steelers aren’t afraid to be patient after the first round,” ESPN analyst Field Yates wrote. “I think the depth of this wide receiver class helps a team like the Steelers really well.”
Few franchises can claim to have hit on as many drafted receivers as the Steelers. That list includes Plaxico Burress, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pickens and Johnson.
Some of those players sustained success over a long period. So, rather than making a trade for a receiver, the Steelers should seek their answer at the position in the draft.
