Why the Steelers should pursue wide receiver A.T. Perry in the 2023 NFL Draft

With free agency taking the NFL by storm and the draft coming up just next month, there’s been a ton of headlines and mock drafts surrounding which team should get which player(s) and why. As far as Steelers fans are concerned, defensive talent has been the more common request. As a result, some positions have only gotten shreds of attention, such as wide receiver.

Now, is a new star at WR a dire need at the moment? No. However, there is one that I feel is worthy of the Steelers snagging well into this upcoming draft, after the biggest question marks have already been addressed: Wake Forest’s A.T. Perry.

Perry has a rather strong chance of being overlooked for a good portion of the draft for two reasons. One is Wake Forest failing to be seen as much of an NFL factory, and two is his combine performance leaving some to be desired when compared to those of other receivers. But remember, those are good things, as they could still leave Pittsburgh a chance to get him after it has accounted for other positions.

Speaking of which, one might be wondering what it is about A.T. Perry that makes him so intriguing of a prospect. Simply put, if his combination of school and combine performance is far from perfect, why should the Steelers look to land him in particular?

Two things should make A.T. Perry attractive to the Steelers

The answer boils down to two traits that Perry hangs his hat on, both of which have been known to grab Pittsburgh’s attention in the past: size and catching ability.

Perry is a tall man, standing between 6’ 3” and 6’ 5” (according to his conflicting Wake Forest and NFL profiles). He also has noteworthy arm and hand dimensions, with the combine measuring them at 33 ¼” and 9 ¼”, respectively.

As for his catching, he was renowned throughout his time in college for his reliability in deep and/or well-covered passing plays, either finding a way to be wide open by the time the ball hit his hands or reeling in a remarkable catch with a player right on him.

All of these factors should stand out to the Steelers due to how eerily similar they are to those of another WR—one by the name of Chase Claypool.

Claypool, a second-round draft pick from 2020, garnered much attention around the league for his height of 6’ 4” and weight of 238 lbs. (around the same height as Perry, but noticeably heavier). His arm and hand measurements were listed as 32 ½” (slightly shorter than Perry’s) and 9 ⅞” (slightly larger). He also established himself as a big playmaker very soon into his professional career, coming down with impressive catches on multiple occasions.

In other words, A.T. Perry has just as good of dimensions as Claypool aside from being a tad lankier. And, just for the record, there is nothing about Claypool’s combine performance that I feel separates his overall athletic worth from Perry's, either.

If I’m the Steelers organization, I’m seeing that I just lost one of my more promising athletes at wide receiver. However, I’m also seeing that I can make up for it by snatching this Wake Forest kid, and all he has to do is hit the weight room for a bit. Where’s the harm in that?

Again, I understand that wide receiver is not the position that Pittsburgh needs to address the quickest. But, considering the caliber of athlete it recently lost in the Chicago trade, the thought of landing A.T. Perry should be graciously welcomed. That is, of course, assuming that he will be used more than Claypool was.