Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers' blatant need at the wide receiver position in recent years, the team found itself going in a different direction early in the NFL Draft. This is a trend that has continued for years, and a recent stat shows why this needs to end.
On Thursday, NFL analytics expert Warren Sharp posted the number of wide receivers each NFL team has selected in the first round over the past 10 years. While teams like the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings selected three wideouts in Round 1 over the past decade, the Steelers are one of three teams that have drafted zero in the first round during this span.
Joining the Steelers are the Buffalo Bills, the LA Rams, and the Indianapolis Colts. These are competitive organizations, and the Rams even won a Super Bowl during this span. However, Los Angeles was fortunate to luck into going from Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp to All-Pro Puka Nacua.
Meanwhile, teams like the Steelers and Bills have reached desperation mode trying to find a true WR1... and they have nobody to blame but themselves.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are long overdue to select a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft
Interestingly, the Bills and Colts each selected first-round receivers in the 2015 NFL Draft, meaning they have gone 11 years without taking a wideout in Round 1.
But the Steelers' neglet of the position is a whole other level.
Pittsburgh hasn't taken a wide receiver in the first round since before Mike Tomlin was head coach. In the 2006 draft, 20 years ago, they moved up in Round 1 to select Ohio State receiver Santonio Holmes. Though Holmes wasn't a superstar, he went on to play an integral role for the Steelers and earned Super Bowl MVP for his dominant performance against the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
This was the last wide receiver the Steelers selected in Round 1. Before that, it was Plaxico Burress in 2000, who finished his NFL career with 8,499 yards and 64 touchdowns.
There are reasons the Steelers haven't taken a first-round receiver over the past decade. The biggest was Antonio Brown, a sixth-round pick that Pittsburgh struck gold on in the 2010 NFL Draft. But Brown has been gone for a long time, and the Steelers have still lacked a go-to option in the passing game.
Without a No. 1 receiver, it's hard to get any NFL offense to work right. Pittsburgh could finally change that in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Wide receiver has been high on the team's radar throughout the pre-draft process, and trading a late-round pick swap for veteran Michael Pittman Jr. should hardly sway the Steelers from selecting a receiver in Round 1 this year.
Receiver is a premium position, and because of where the Steelers routinely select in the draft, they often miss out on the top talents. But this team has struggled to find a worthy WR1 since the departure of Brown eight years ago.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are long overdue for a first-round wide receiver, and they could end this two-decade-long streak this April.