Steelers Beat Writer Not Buying A Dynamic Early-Round Wide Receiver Selection In 2023 Draft

The list is a long one when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers roster needs entering the 2023 off-season. The offense and defense both have needs on the lines, while the linebacker and cornerback positions need some fine-tuning. The approach to free agency in a month will give a better idea about how the franchise plans to attack the 2023 NFL Draft. Typically not big spenders, the front office will likely look to bring in talent through the draft. 

One position that is being talked about as a big need is at wide receiver. Bringing in more weapons for quarterback, Kenny Pickett, could help open up the playbook, but with so many needs all over the place, will the organization go after a pass catcher early in the draft? Or will they hope to find a diamond in the rough during the later rounds?

The biggest complication is the draft capital that Pittsburgh has. Without fifth or sixth round picks, the likelihood of finding a difference-maker in the seventh isn't all that high. Depending on how necessary the general manager, Omar Khan believes a wide receiver is, one would probably be selected within the first four rounds.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko did a chat on Monday and he was asked several questions surrounding the team and he seemed to be not sold on the fact that wide receiver is a top need.

He was asked how early he believes the franchise will go after a pass-catcher in the draft, if they even decide to address the position in April in the first place:

"Guess here is 4th round at the earliest. Sure, it'd be nice to give Kenny Pickett as many talented targets as possible, but they just traded away Chase Claypool and I think at least part of that was to feature Diontae Johnson and especially George Pickens more," Batko wrote.

Batko isn't forgetting about the other weapons that surround Pickett. If utilized correctly, a third wide receiver on the roster along with the team's starting tight end could lead to the offense being productive as is:

"Plus, Pat Freiermuth is a dude. Calvin Austin, if all goes well with his recovery, can help. It never hurts to have good wideouts in the pipeline, but just not a huge need at the moment."

Steelers Could Have #3 WR Already On Roster

Batko makes all good points. A lot of people are forgetting about the Steelers potential secret weapon in Calvin Austin III. He was selected in the fourth round in April of 2022 and his entire rookie season was lost due to injury. He has blazing 4.32 speed and could make an immediate impact in 2023.

The offense began to gel a little bit better towards the end of the 2022 season and it will be interesting to see what kind of leap the group can make in Pickett's second season. Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth and Austin could come together with running backs, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and end up being a top 10 offensive unit.

The wide receiver room is thin, however. The addition of Anthony Miller might help, but if the draft doesn't make any sense, an inexpensive option in free agency might be the route to go down.