The current WR Situation

It sounds like you are referencing 2010, when they took Emmanuel Sanders in the third round and Antonio Brown in the sixth, but they weren't counting on either of those guys to be the second or third receiver as a rookie. That team had Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, and Antwaan Randle El returning. I would be very confident in Wilson taking on a similar role in 2024 and perhaps emerging as more of a weapon later in the season, but counting on him as their No. 2 is a dubious decision at best.

 

Defenses had to account for Johnson last season. I don't like the guy, either, but at least I know that much is true.

Washington hasn't shown he can do very much as a receiver. Hell, he didn't show much in that area at Georgia.

Freiermuth creates mismatches at tight end. If he is your slot, that makes things very easy on opposing defenses.

Maybe Wilson has enough left to be an upgrade at quarterback, but that doesn't matter as much if they don't have at least two receivers defenses have to respect.

 

If you actually believe that WRs are easily replaced in today's NFL game you have no clue on what is happening. There is a reason why NFL teams are now paying 30+ million a year to their top WRs.

 

Right now tell me 1 "lower round" WR in the 2024 NFL draft that will have over 1,000 yards receiving this year? Hell, make it 750 yards.

Don't look back and point to a guy in the 2022 or 2023 draft, anybody can do that.

Sure makes DJ's $18 million look like a bargain now. If we could only go back in time and block that trade.

 

Was receding to AB and then DJ. We could add Pickens and bryant. You draft them to count on them. It's not like he will have to do it alone.

 

puca did pretty well last year. Jayden reed. K J osborn. Roughly 67 catches a year and 5 TDs the last two years for DJ. He had 51 catches last year. If we use 3 or 4 guys with 35 each, we are still ahead. Fresh legs can make a diffrence.

 

No looking back... That is to easy to point out guys that had a good rookie season after the season is over.

Care to guess the lower round WRs from the 2024 draft that are going to make the pro bowl this year, or lead their team in receiving?

 

My crystal ball isn't working. It may not even be their fault with injuries to them or their qb or many other reasons. There is no way to tell but it may also not be just that player. It might be as simple as the OC as we have seen.

 

Well, they don't have much after Pickens so yeah Wilson is going to produce in this offense.

 

You draft them to count on them eventually, but not usually as rookies. Take the four guys you just mentioned. Only Johnson fits your argument, but that was a team saddled with Roethlisberger's massive contract and Brown had just forced his way out of town. The others fit my side of this better than yours.

• Brown caught 16 passes as a rookie.
• They had Johnson and Claypool returning as starters when they drafted Pickens,
• Martavis Bryant was inactive for the first six games of his rookie season. That team had Brown and Wheaton as starters. They had also signed Lance Moore to be their third option.

 

Maybe, but that's not a good player earning his way so much as it is a rookie who likely isn't ready stumbling into targets because their other options are so weak.

 

It'll all sort itself out down the road

 

one scenario has nothing to do with the other, so no you are not right or wrong, nor am i. they will count on all these players. that was then and this is now. so they did count on johnson. wheaton and lance moore were less than what we have now. claypool is less than what we have now. brown was given a ton of money to be the #1 before he proved he could be the #1 when wallace didn't sign. that was indirectly counting on a guy to make a big jump before they knew he could.

they did have some guys in place just like they do now but i think they will go with the sum of all the parts. no team wins it all because of the #2 receiver. i think you are placing too much having just one guy as a number 2. i believe we have possibly 3-4 number 2's. it's a long season, use them. fresh legs for DB's to have to chase around the field. players do evolve.

 

Nice try at muddying the waters, but you brought up four situations and in three of them, the Steelers were not counting on rookies starting. The only time they did was due to Roethlisberger's contract restricting their cap space and Antonio Brown's ugly departure.

You brought up Bryant, who was excellent evidence for my side of the argument. They did not count on him to start as a rookie. Hell, he wasn't even active until their seventh game.

Claypool is less than we have behind Pickens now, but that wasn't he case going into the 2022 season.

What they did with Brown later is irrelevant. This is a discussion of relying on rookies to start. Brown did not. In fact, he only caught 12 passes as a rookie.

 

nobody is arguing. every post you make you seem to want to argue. most of your posts are your opinion. we all have them. what one player did then has no baring on what another player will do. i never said we needed to count on this rookie to start. i said the sum of all the parts. we don't need to pigeon hole someone into being the number two receiver. we have several players that can play that role and no matter what your opinion states, we will not know until the season begins to find out who can do what. i think they are very comfortable with no one set player at that spot but the whole group to do the job. we have plenty of fire power in the run game and at TE and receivers to make this offense work pretty well including at QB. it's like the land of misfit toys. but as a group it makes these players hungry to prove their worth and i for one like those kind of players, especially for the money we have spent on this offense so far. i believe it will sort itself out.

 

When people express opposing opinions, that is an argument. It doesn't have to be aggressive or ugly.

What other players have done helps us figure out what other players are likely to do. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it shows us more likely outcomes.

Austin had an opportunity to step into a larger role last season when Johnson was out. He failed to do so. Hopefully, he will do more this year, but is he really more than a no. 3 at best?

The other veteran option after Pickens are all scrap heap material. Trusting them makes no sense.

That leaves Wilson, a rookie. It's funny how how now you want to claim there was no argument after you spent multiple posts arguing. Why is that?

 

opinions are just that until we see what this year brings. you put a lot of effort into saying you are right and that proves someone elses opinion wrong when there is no clear evidence of what will happen until it does. i don't have a problem ever discussing things with you but the i'm right and your opinion is wrong inuendo makes it hard to discuss things with you. i don't know how things will work out this year and you don't either, that we can agree on. they have options. some players thrive in certain situations over former situations for many different reasons. it's not near as black and white as you want to make it. there are many ways to win in this league.

 

We have seen in the past in the NFL and with the Steelers receivers having good production in their rookie season even in players who were drafted in the 3rd or 4th round

Maybe it wouldn't be from day one, since the Steelers always send out their rookie slowly but from October, it's possible that Wilson has a positive impact....Who knows what could happen with Austin too....And I believe Khan is still looking for a receiver in the trade market or free agent market if someone is released (JuJu?) but he won't overpay for that, this is for sure,so it won't be at all cost

 

For me it would still be Roman Wilson. I loved the 3rd round pick, because I thought he had 1st round ability. I can't wait to hear the reports on him when the pads come on.

He is your typical Steelers 2nd round pick back in the day when they seemed to be taking a WR with every 2nd round pick they had in the draft. With how much WRs cost nowadays, I think the Steelers should go back to the days when they draft a WR with their 2nd or 3rd round pick every year.

 

What I'm telling you is that the evidence fits my argument better than it does yours. There may be many ways to win in this league, but some work more consistently than others.

 

Let's say Wilson is the No. 2 receiver, but he isn't ready to be a big contributor until October. That could be devastating for the Steelers. Look at that schedule. They have to start fast.

 

KC is the model of consistency. a real good run game. a good defense. a QB that can distribute the ball to the open spot or run when needed. he also does that without top WR's. a good receiving TE. a smart coach.

run game we should have.
good defense we should have.
qb not on his level.
wr's probably at least as good.
TE not as good but better than many as a receiver. maybe 2 of them.
smart coach , well i'll leave that up to everyone's take on that matter. he ain't no andy reid for sure.

 

Friermuth is more than capable of being the "#2 WR" until Wilson gets up to speed. Question is.... can Friermuth stay healthy?

This has happened before to the Steelers. In '05... Steelers lost Burress, but drafted Heath Miller. Miller made up for the loss of Burress, even though he was a rookie and a TE.

 

The '05 team had Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El. That is a better veteran combo than Pickens and Austin or any of the offseason scrap-heap signings.