Look Ahead: Mark Slot Receiver Down on Steelers Draft List

On November 1st, the Pittsburgh Steelers received an offer that they couldn't refuse, a second round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft for wide receiver Chase Claypool. With the organization handing Diontae Johnson a contract extension and selecting George Pickens in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the writing was on the wall that Claypool's time in Pittsburgh could potentially be coming to an abrupt end. As we sit here today, that trade looks like a steal, considering that pick should be between picks 32 and 37 in the draft order while Claypool isn't exactly lighting the world on fire either, catching just 12 passes for 111 yards in five games with the Bears.

While it's justified to be excited about the return value of the trade, it's also brought to light that the Steelers didn't really have anyone to fill his role in the offense. The de-facto replacements have been Steven Sims and Gunner Olszewski, both return men, neither of which have ever been consistent contributors on offense in their NFL careers. Maybe the Steelers didn't care about the position for the rest of the season or it's possible that they overrated their in-house talent. Whatever the case may be, the production has been non-existent and left a massive void at the position.

Just how bad is it? Worse than you probably realize. Here is where the Steelers rank in terms of wide receiver production from the slot:

Targets: 93 (30th)
Receptions: 54 (31st)
Yards: 540 (32nd)
Yards After Catch: 180 (32nd)

Pittsburgh is able to neutralize those negative affects a bit by inserting Pat Freiermuth into the slot as a receiver but even if you were to add in his production, they'd still rank bottom five across the board.

The Steelers have tinkered with playing a little bit more 12 personnel on offense, using Connor Heyward in the slot. This was able to pay off last weekend against the Falcons as Heyward scored a touchdown running a stick-n-nod route up the seam in the low red zone. Heyward's hands are capable but he's not exactly the type of athlete or weapon that opposing teams are paying much attention to.

The lack of true inside threats has also lead to Matt Canada inexplicably slotting George Pickens into the slot, which is far from the ideal role for a player with his sill set. The 6-foot-3 rookie dynamo aligned inside 37% of passing downs last week against the Atlanta Falcons, an underwhelming game in which he registered just one grab for a grand total of two receiving yards. What followed after was a series of on-field outbursts out of frustration from a talented player who wasn't even remotely a part of the offense last week.

Diontae Johnson is the other option but he's the player on offense with the most consistent and defined role. As the primary route running expert and best player on the roster against press coverage, they need him on the outside in order to generate yards down the field.

Johnson's size is sort of a detriment over the middle of the field where generally, bigger bodies are located. He's also been known to make precarious decisions with the ball in his hands, opting to go east and west instead of getting upfield.

Calvin Austin, the teams fourth-round selection from Memphis, unfortunately missed all of the preseason with a nagging foot injury. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve after having surgery due to a setback that he suffered working his way back into the fold.

Despite his diminutive frame, Austin's ability to produce yards after the catch would have been welcomed this season along the inside. But it's not quite that simple of a projection because while he was incredibly productive in college, nearly all of his damage was done as an X receiver on the boundary. There's plenty of reason for optimism about his potential down the line but Austin's isn't exactly a roster lock next season as he must prove he can stay healthy while carving out a niche on offense and/or special teams.

At this point in the season, the Steelers roster essentially is what it is. They have a very slim chance to make the postseason and an astronomically low chance of actually making noise in the postseason. That excuse runs out in the spring whenever the new league year begins, though. It's exceedingly important for the Steelers to exhaust all options in order to make life easier on their hopeful franchise signal caller in the short term.

Pittsburgh has made a habit out of finding playmakers on day two of the NFL Draft instead of signing veterans through free agency. It's hard to argue with those results as few organizations have done it better over such a long period of time than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fans should expect to see another receiver join the lineage come April.

A popular name that will arise throughout the pre-draft process will be Jordan Addison, the gifted superstar from USC who just so happened to help Kenny Pickett break all sorts of records at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021.

From a skill set perspective, Addison makes a ton of sense because of his ability to play both inside and outside, as he played 68% of his snaps in the slot back in 2021 at Pitt, according to Pro Football Focus. Addison is a twitched up athlete who can make noise with the ball in his hands and is an impressive route runner to all three levels.

In recent years, we've seen NFL teams reunite college playmakers with their young, talented quarterbacks. From Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase to Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle, this formula has worked out quite well for other top teams in the league. Not to say that a reunion between the pair would propel either player to among the league’s best but it's a little bit enticing to say the least.

The biggest drawback is that Addison is more than likely going to be selected somewhere in the first round which is a price that the Steelers haven't wanted to pay since 2006 when they selected Santonio Holmes.

A slightly less heralded name but an attractive option nonetheless is Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Unfortunately, the talented underclassmen had his season cut short thanks to a pesky hamstring injury. While Smith-Njigba isn't quite as dynamic of a playmaker as Addison, he's a rock solid prospect with traits that are certainly translatable to the next level. According to Dane Brugler of the Athletic, first round-bound quarterback C.J. Stroud says that Smith-Njigba is the best route runner that he's ever played with. This is notable of course because Ohio State had not one, but two receivers go inside the top 11 picks of the 2022 NFL Draft in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.

Smith-Njigba was the leading receiver on the Buckeyes offense back in 2021 and finished his year off with a bang, dropping a whopping 347 receiving yards on 15 catches in the Rose Bowl, which set a new bowl game record. He comes equipped with reliable hands, is a proficient route runner who just knows how to get open and offers some positive things in the open field with impressive ball carrier vision. His stock is a little cloudy at the moment because we haven't seen him play in a while but given that he's not a super-dynamic athlete, it's very possible that he slides a little bit on draft night, potentially out of the top 20 and into the early portion of the second-round.

While slot receiver might not be the biggest need on the team or offense rather, it's certainly up there. Odds are the pick will end up being someone other than the two players previously mentioned. Knowing how the organization operates and how they value that position as a whole, there's reason to believe that they're going to take a swing sometime in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. That swing could be exactly the type of boost they need in order to take that next leap oin 2023.

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