Omar Khan has had a pretty successful offseason so far. His amazing draft, and shrewd free agent signings have set this team up for what should be a very successful 2024 season. There is one glaring hole in this roster however. In fact, it encompasses an entire position group. The Steelers wide receiver room might be the worst it has been during the entire Mike Tomlin era. For years this franchise has had at least one superstar to lean on in this group. Most years they have had multiple above average talents at receiver.
As we stand today, there is only one player on this roster with a 1,000 yard season under his belt. George Pickens is the only wideout to have achieved this, and only just barely (1,140). No player on this team has more than six touchdowns in an entire season. Van Jefferson had 6 for the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Pickens also has the most receptions in one season at 63, despite only having two years in the league under his belt.
Behind the two projected starters in Pickens and Jefferson, the drop off is significant. In fact, you could call the depth at this position group atrocious. The combined career stats of Quez Watkins, Calvin Austin, Dez Fitzpatrick, and Marquez Callaway amounts to 200 receptions, 2500 yards, and 15 touchdowns. Add this all up, and the question becomes is this the worst wide receiver group in the Mike Tomlin era? The answer is a resounding yes.
Every year since Tomlin took over the coaching duties in 2007, the Steelers have had at least one established Pro Bowl caliber wideout on the roster. In his first year Tomlin had both Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward at his disposal. As Ward began to age, and Holmes was shooting his way out of town, the Steelers were already busy putting together what would be known as the “young money crew”. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/975430-pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisbergers-legend-grows
This group led by Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace, and Emmanuel Sanders would keep this position group stacked for years. In Antonio Brown’s case it would last 6 seasons of Hall of Fame level play. Just when this group was starting to break up, Kevin Colbert added Martavis Bryant to the mix in 2014. They would from a dynamic duo for a few short years.
When it became clear that Martavis Bryant wasn’t long for the NFL, the Steelers added Ju Ju Smith Schuster. While his career never reached the heights it seemed destined for, Smith Schuster was a far better receiver than anyone on the current roster not named George Pickens.
The 2019 season saw the end of the Antonio Brown era in Pittsbugh. Once again however, Kevin Colbert had it covered. The Steelers drafted Diontae Johnson, and once again had a duo far superior to what the team has today. DJ, Smith Schuster, and even a one year cameo from Chase Claypool would ensure that 2024 is indeed the worst Steelers wide receiver room in the Mike Tomlin era.
Now, there is still time for Omar Khan to fix this little mess he has created. We assume the plan all along was to make a big splash to replace the traded Diontae Johnson. For all his faults, Johnson was miles better than anyone brought in to replace him thus far. Adding Roman Wilson through the draft is not nearly enough to get this group to the standards we are used to. Hopefully there is one more big move coming. If not, this will go down as the worst receiving group in over 20 years.