The Pittsburgh Steelers opened up a big hole at wide receiver this offseason by trading Diontae Johnson. Although they made a couple of low-level signings, they’re clearly angling on reloading in the draft. Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes the draft is set to reward that strategy.
“The great thing about this draft is you can pretty much get any kind of flavor you want,” he told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan on Thursday. He talked about several players the Steelers have taken a close look at, namely Malachi Corley, Ricky Pearsall and Xavier Legette.
All three are likely second-round wide receivers, which Fittipaldo seems to believe is once again the sweet spot. The Steelers found George Pickens there just two years ago, and he wonders if they can’t find another like him.
“This draft is loaded with number-one types of receivers who might fall to you in the second round,” he said. “Guys who could be like George Pickens. Pickens was picked in that part of the draft, as well. This is such a deep draft for receivers that you could legitimately get another deep threat at that point.”
Selected 52nd overall, Pickens has 115 career receptions for 1,941 yards and 9 touchdowns. He caught 63 passes last season for 1,140 yards and 5 touchdowns, leading the league with 18.1 yards per catch.
Since entering the league, Pickens has proven his big-play capability. He already has 39 explosive receptions, including touchdowns of 66, 71 and 86 yards. Pickens also has a knack for the highlight-reel catch. But Fittipaldo expects the Steelers are looking in another direction.
“Legette is more of a down-the-field, 50-50 contested catch type of a guy, probably more in the mold of a Pickens than those other guys,” he said. “I think they’re probably gonna target more in the Corley/Pearsall range, that guy who can work the short and intermediate parts of the field.”
That better fits what they lost in Johnson, an elite route runner who could get open at will. Of course, not everything went according to plan once he got open, assuming he caught the football to begin with.
The Steelers have brought in all three of these players for pre-draft visits. It’s beginning to feel destined that they draft yet another wide receiver in the second round, a pronounced pattern. Before Pickens, they also drafted Chase Claypool, James Washington and JuJu Smith-Schuster in Round 2 since 2017. They also found Johnson in 2019 near the top of the third round at 66.
Since 2017, the only times they didn’t draft a wide receiver from 49 to 66, they didn’t draft a wide receiver at all. The Steelers did not select one in 2021 or in 2023, but they took TE Pat Freiermuth 55th overall in 2021. They didn’t draft a skill player at all last year.
