Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster prediction, depth chart after NFL Draft

Wide receivers: Chase Claypool, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, James Washington, Ray-Ray McCloud

Even with the return of JuJu Smith-Schuster for another season, I almost expected the Steelers to use one of their late-round draft choices on a wide receiver – in large part because we are so used to seeing them do this. From 2017 to 2020, Pittsburgh spent day-two draft picks on wide receivers each year, and this was the first year they haven’t selected a receiver since the 2011 NFL Draft.

This might be the easiest depth to predict out of all the positions. Chase Claypool will slot in as the ‘Z’ receiver, and I don’t think anyone is questioning that he has the most potential of any player at this positional group. The Steelers will look to get him involved early and often this year. Meanwhile, Diontae Johnson will man the ‘X’ receiver position with JuJu-Smith Schuster working the slot. It will be interesting to see which paring the Steelers go with in 12-personnel.

James Washington is a lock to secure the team’s fourth wide receiver position and will likely once again trait the top three in snaps by a good bit. After him, I have Ray-Ray McCloud making the team as the ‘specialist’ receiver, and I can see how Matt Canada could really use him in his offense. I have the Steelers rolling with just five receivers on the roster this year and using the depth elsewhere.