Despite concerns from the outside, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan was impressed with what he saw from the wide receivers corps during the offseason program. He likes the trajectory of the group.
“We just finished minicamp and 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 during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan. “Just the growth from when the offseason program started to where we are now. Even the improvements from the start of OTAs to now has really been awesome to see.
“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.”
A trade could still come to fruition for a blue chip wide receiver down the road. But, as of right now, the Steelers appear to feel really good about their wide receiver room. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and wide receiver Zach Azzanni had similar statements as Khan.
“Every year changes. If you’re talking historical, if you’re just playing static and not moving and you were spread out and you had wide receiver one, wide receiver two, wide receiver three, things change year to year,” Smith said in an interview with Missi Matthews of Steelers.com when asked about needing a No. 2 wide receiver. “You see it every year in this league. Guys that may be a fifth-round pick end up being the rookie of the year. Guys get another opportunity, they step up. It’s constantly changing. And then, unfortunately, guys get injured, you have to have depth. You’re working all those contingency plans all up and down the offense.”
Azzanni even thinks the number system in labeling wide receivers is overrated.
“Competition has been great. It’s kind of what I mean when I say these guys are at different spots of their career. I know a lot gets made of the one, two, the three. Listen, this day and age, we move everyone around and guys get balls based on matchup. That number thing is a little overrated to me,” Azzanni said.
Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson and Scotty Miller are competing for the next four spots on the depth chart, at both outside receiver and in the slot. Wilson and Austin could step up and rise to the occasion this year. Austin looked impressive during the Steelers’ offseason program.
Nick Farabaugh contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.