The Pittsburgh Steelers attacked free agency last week in a manner that no Steelers fan has ever seen. They struck early and often and landed several free agents including Mitchell Trubisky, James Daniels, Levi Wallace, Mason Cole, and Gunner Olszewski. They also claimed receiver Miles Boykin off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens.
After their spending spree they have somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 million left to spend. And a lot of that money will be spent signing their draft picks. They do have some time between now and when those signings will happen, so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that the Steelers will add another free agent or two. Should they choose to do so they still have plenty of options to free up some cap space with restructures.
One of their biggest holes is wide receiver. They lost three receivers in the first week of free agency and have plenty of question marks behind Diontae Johnson. These are a few receivers the Steelers could have their eye on.
Jarvis Landry - Landry was released by the Cleveland Browns when they traded for Amari Cooper. His production slipped last season, but Landry missed several games due to injury and said that he came back too soon which ultimately caused him to re-injure himself. Landry is the big name that most Steelers fans will recognize from this list. He offers experience, toughness, and leadership. He would fit perfectly into the Steelers offense as the slot receiver. Matt Canada's offense will see Trubisky use play action, roll outs, and the middle of the field often. Landry does his most damage making the tough catches on the inside of the field, and he thrived in Cleveland's play action based offense with Baker Mayfield. He reportedly had some interest from several teams, but he hasn't found a new home yet. Why not come to Pittsburgh and get to shove it down your former teams throat twice a year?
Photo / Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Cole Beasley - Beasley has spent the last three seasons in Buffalo amassing 231 receptions for 2438 yards and 11 touchdowns. Injuries slowed him down a little bit last year, and he fell down the depth chart only starting 8 games. If the Steelers intend to draft a receiver in the first round on Thursday night then Beasley would make perfect sense. He's not going to cost a lot, and he's only going to be on a one year contract. He also would fill the large hole in the slot that currently exists for Pittsburgh.
Keelan Cole - Cole is another receiver with plenty of experience on the market that isn't going to break the bank. He started 11 games last season for the Jets catching 28 passes for 449 yards with 1 touchdown. He's a player that's consistently had bad quarterback play over his entire career playing in Jacksonville before signing a one-year deal in New York last offseason. Even with that he's still been able to be productive catching 130 passes for first downs. That is an area that the Steelers will lose a lot of production in with Smith-Schuster leaving town. Pat Freiermuth will help fill that void, but you can't ever have enough chain movers. In a pinch Cole can return punts, and kicks too.
Adam Humphries - Humphries would fit into the slot role for the Steelers in the same frame of mind as Ray-Ray McCloud not as a Smith-Schuster type. A lot of you probably cringed at that thought, but give it a chance. Humphries isn't going to run anyone over, but he's shifty like McCloud and he doesn't drop a lot of passes. He's been able to carve out a role in the NFL for 8 seasons after entering the league as an undrafted free agent. For all of the experience he has he's still on the younger side at 28. He spent last season with Washington and hauled in 41 passes while starting 11 games. His best season came in 2018 with Tampa Bay when he caught 76 passes for 816 yards. He's not going to be flashy, but he will do all of the little things right.
Other receivers to consider:
Dante Pettis (Giants)
Marcus Kemp (Chiefs)
