The Steelers Wide Receiver room is crowded with six players with NFL playing experience and one third-round pick. It will be interesting to see who they keep.
The Steelers wide receiver room is crowded and while I think they will keep six receivers, there is a lot of competition for those jobs. We will take a look at the different competitions for different roles. I think the only safe players for roles are the top two receivers. I believe Juju Smith-Schuster is safely the go-to receiver and Donte Moncrief is safely the number two receiver. Not all writers think he is safe, but I think the money they gave him is an indication that they think he can be the #2. Moncrief is scheduled to make 1.5 million this year and 3.5 million in 2020.
There are a number of roles up for grabs but I think there is a skeleton for how this team will structure the wide receiver room. They will need a number one and two receiver obviously but they will need some expanded roles. The third receiver job is up for grabs and so is the returner slot as well as the gunner slot. I also think they will carry a sixth receiver as that is what they have done in the past.
There are many reasons to think that the Steelers will carry six receivers. For one, they have done it for the past few years. It is also a position that contains key special teams players. Three receivers on the field is a norm as the Steelers are in nickel more than 12 or 21 personnel. Therefore, you need a lot of depth on the roster at wide receiver.
Let’s take a look at the competition for the #3 receiver job.