Steelers 53-man roster prediction: Post-preseason game vs Eagles

Steelers Wide Receivers (5)

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

This is a position group that it’s pretty set in stone. The only real question is if a sixth receiver can make the final 53. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and James Washington are all locks to make the 53. Outside of their top four, Ray-Ray McCloud should make it again as a returner and Steelers will likely use him for the reverses and the jet sweeps that they plan to use much more of this season.

With the Steelers likely to run more two-tight end sets and already have Derek Watt at full back, it’s very unlikely the Steelers will have room to carry a 6th wide receiver.  If one were to surprise us and make the team, it’d likely be either Anthony Johnson or Rico Bussey. Though Johnson isn’t a very good athlete, he’s had an impressive training camp so far and just seems to come down with everything thrown in his direction.  Maybe the Steelers coaches and staff see something there to hold on to.

The only other candidate who has a shot to stick around at wide receiver would probably be Matthew Sexton. The small receiver can handle responsibilities as a slot receiver and has shown to be a solid return man. However, he doesn’t offer much value outside of this. Based on what I’ve seen, the Steelers will probably keep just five receivers again this year.