One of the biggest moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made in the offseason was to trade starting wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers. This left the Steelers wide receiver room minus its best receiver and thrusts Geoge Pickens into the No. 1 receiver role.
Pro Football Reference ranked all 32 NFL receiving units and to no one’s surprise, the Steelers group took a huge hit, checking in at No. 26.
Here’s what they had to say about this group:
George Pickens came in at No. 30 on PFF’s pre-season wide receiver list and leads the pack in Pittsburgh with Diontae Johnson no longer there. Rookie receiver Roman Wilson should get a good amount of playing time this year, too.
Tight end Pat Freiermuth is coming off a 68.8 PFF receiving grade, and running back Jaylen Warren posted a 72.9 mark in 2023. It’s a decent group with a lower ceiling after Johnson’s departure.
We are hopeful Roman Wilson can become a regular target in the offense but we don’t expect the season to start that way. And we’ve talked at length about the potential of the Steelers tight ends. But just purely on the players that the Steelers brought in to replace Johnson, things don’t look great and this ranking is more than fair.
