Steelers named to have second-biggest ‘roster hole’ in NFL

The Steelers may have one of the more underrated rosters in the NFL without a clear hole outside of a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver.

However, NFL.com’s Kevin Patra believes it’s significant enough to land second on his list of the 10 biggest remaining roster holes in the league.

“Whenever I talk to Yinzer friends, the very first comment is about the Steelers’ receiver room,” Patra writes. “It’s George Pickens and a trove of Riddler-style question marks. Third-round pick Roman Wilson profiles as the most likely candidate to step into a sizable role next to Pickens, but it’s a lot to ask a low-production, mid-round rookie to immediately play a substantial role in the NFL.”

Wilson may turn out to be Pittsburgh’s next great wide receiver, but that is unlikely to come in Year 1.

That leaves the rest of the Steelers pass-catchers (Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Quez Watkins and Scotty Miller) vying for the No. 2 role.

If Pittsburgh is going based on their 2023 campaigns, the outlook isn’t great as none eclipsed 200 receiving yards.

However, the Steelers coaching staff doesn’t seem too worried as of now.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said, “That’s all subjective,” while wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni stated, “That number thing is a little overrated.”

The belief in Pittsburgh’s wide receiver room doesn’t stop there, either. General manager Omar Khan is also encouraged by what he’s seen during the early stages of the offseason program.

“I was talking to Coach T and a couple of the other guys in my department, and we were just saying how good we felt about that room,” Khan said on 93.7 The Fan. “We like the group. We really, really do. And they’re working hard. This was an important OTA and minicamp for us. Got a lot of new faces on offense and just seeing how they jell together, how they worked, and I can just tell you, it’s trending really positively. It was awesome.”

This isn’t to say the Steelers aren’t going to add to the room as Khan has pulled this trick before when he said he had full faith in quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, and the internal options at center. He then drafted Zach Frazier in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

That’s why Patra is still betting Pittsburgh adds another playmaker before the start of the season.

“We’ve seen the Steelers strike gold in the draft in the past,” Patra added. “But it will be a surprise if the Steelers don’t add to the WR room before Week 1.”