Steelers have already gotten the steal of their draft

With the 52nd overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have already gotten their best steal of the year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been known to draft well, but that is especially the case when it comes to seeking out talented wide receivers. After all that this offseason has done to their receiving corps, they needed to do just that–and they did.

With the 52nd pick (only Pittsburgh’s second in the draft), the Steelers snatched Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver George Pickens. When considering how many solid receivers had already been taken, and that Pittsburgh used its sole first round pick on local quarterback Kenny Pickett, the ability to still obtain Pickens was nothing short of miraculous.

Pickens made a name for himself with the Bulldogs during their national championship run from this last college football season. In the process, he showed off his impressive catching ability while playing some of the nation’s best collegiate talent.

Now yes, it was only a matter of time until the Steelers snatched a wide receiver, as losing three targets (JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud) through offseason signings is too hefty of a loss to ignore.

However, most would have expected Pickens to already have been off of the table by the time the 52nd pick rolled around, so seeing his combination of hands and experience still manage to find its way to the Steel City is quite the breath of fresh air.

Combining Pickens with the arm talent of Kenny Pickett could make them one of the more dynamic QB-WR duos set for the future of the NFL, and a consistently-powerful passing game is something that Steelers fans have been deprived of in recent memory.

Entering the rest of the draft, Pittsburgh’s priorities should now be to land a promising cornerback, some help on both the offensive and defensive lines, and perhaps another receiver–preferably as NFL-ready as possible.

The Steelers are not in a beautiful place right now, and this ongoing draft won’t help that right away. However, the talent that they have already gotten their hands on could help make them one of the league’s most exciting teams of tomorrow.