Steelers' Recent Restructure Of Offensive Line Seriously Affected Another Team Weakness

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted George Pickens in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In the same offseason, Calvin Austin III was picked up in the fourth round on day three. Fans had hoped that the selections would solidify the receiving corps for the foreseeable future. While Pickens has shown flashes of being elite, and Austin had had a few strong games in his career, fans are still calling for the organization to trade for a wideout ahead of a November 5th deadline in 2024. The team is currently feeling the effects of being shortsighted when it came to building a roster under General Manager Omar Khan.

Khan has certainly done more good than bad since being promoted in 2022, but one has to remember that he was not fully in charge during the draft that year. Kevin Colbert was still running the show before Khan was promoted in May, roughly a month after the biggest day of the NFL's offseason. Andy Weidl joined Khan and it was expected that the front office would attempt to build up the trenches, which has been the case.

Unfortunately, the Steelers have missed out on some phenomenal wide receivers in the process. It makes the pill harder to swallow after Broderick Jones has yet to play consistently on the left side and struggled on the right. The team neglected the wide receiver need in 2023, which can arguably be excused because of the presence of Diontae Johnson and Austin's expected return from his injury that held him out of his rookie season.

Even so, after Jones' was picked 14th overall, guys like Zay Flowers, Jayden Reed, Jordan Addison, Tank Dell and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were all selected within the top 70 picks. Hindsight is 20/20, but it's clear that the team didn't prepare well enough when it came to the wide receiver position due to the obsession of building a stout and dominant offensive line.

Fast forward to 2024 and it seems as if the Steelers have a couple of studs in the making. Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick have played exceptionally well, but it's a little too early to tell for Troy Fautanu, after the first-round selection suffered a season-ending injury. A logical thing to look back on is the selection of Fautanu, similarly to that of Jones. Brian Thomas Jr. is having an incredible rookie year for the Jacksonville Jaguars and was picked 23rd overall.

Even after trading Johnson, Pittsburgh waited until the third round to take Roman Wilson, a rookie wideout that just landed on Injured Reserve and has yet to even secure a catch in his first season. The offensive line absolutely needed to be reconstructed, but so did the receiving corps, and it was nearly ignored completely in the past two drafts. It's clear that there was no true plan in place other than to keep selecting offensive linemen until one, or multiple, stuck.

Jones' struggles and the injury to Fautanu have highlighted this fact, especially because there were numerous opportunities to draft a pass-catcher that could not only have made a difference, but also had the Steelers avoiding wide receiver trade talks for the majority of the 2024 calendar year. Wilson's draft class has not had a ton of success as the season progressed, but Pittsburgh's wide receivers' room would be much more solidified with a guy like Thomas, or even Ladd McConkey.

At the end of the day, no one is going to complain too much about the selections of guys like Frazier and McCormick. Fautanu could also turn into a Pro Bowl-caliber player. That doesn't mean it isn't fair to criticize the front office for neglecting another weakness. Austin has had a couple of big games in 2024, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he is the solution to all of the offense's problems.

Now, it's very possible that Khan uses draft capital to pick up a wideout at the trade deadline, which all could have been avoided if the team was either more aggressive in free agency, or had a better plan in place when it came to the last two drafts. There is no doubt that Pickens was a phenomenal pick, but there's not much else since. Particularly, Khan's tenure hasn't really seen the Steelers improve the room. Arguably, it only got worse when Johnson was traded.

Fans may look back in five years and appreciate the offensive line's restructure, and it's possible that the wide receiver position is a huge focus in 2025, but as the organization awaits the trade deadline in 2024 with questions remaining on the offensive line, it has to make one think about what could have been with players like Thomas, Reed, Addison, among others.

Steelers Could Be 1 Formidable Wide Receiver Away From Playoff Run

Time will tell if the 2024 team truly needs another wide receiver in the room. It seems like the logical decision to make for the front office, despite recent contributions from Austin. Pickens, Austin and Wilson are the only wideouts under contract for 2025, which highlights the essential need to bolster the room. It could come in 2025, but the right acquisition could right the wrongs of the last couple of drafts and help Pittsburgh make a postseason charge.

Do you agree with the Steelers' draft strategies the last two offseasons? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation