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The current Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver room is a young group full of talent and potential, but something that it may be lacking the most heading into next season is the presence of a veteran leader.
As of now, the 2022 wide receiver room looks like this:
All eight players are 27-years-old and under and hold an average age of 24-years-old. Since free agency began on March 16, the Steelers have seen JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud leave to join other teams. While their departures may still sting for Steeler Nation, the silver lining to this is that they were all under 25 and never really made a major impact on games, outside of Smith-Schuster.
Last season, both Smith-Schuster and Claypool dominated headlines with their social media antics while their on-the-field play may have fallen short of fans’ and coaches’ expectations.
While Head Coach Mike Tomlin “doesn’t spend a lot of time focused on those things,” perhaps one thing that he and the front office should focus on is bringing in older talent to make sure the 2022 season isn’t a repeat of last season.
So who is left in free agency who could come in and serve as a mentor to our young guys? We already pitched the idea of bringing in Julio Jones. Even if he doesn’t see the field as much because of his latest history of injuries; at 33-years-old, he can bring the experience to the table to serve as a mentor to the younger guys. Other wide receivers include Jarvis Landry, Jamison Crowder, T.Y. Hilton, A.J. Green, and Odell Beckham Jr., all of whom are at least 29-years-old.
Another benefit of adding a veteran leader is results. Since 2017, when the Steelers had a wide receiver who was 28-years-old or older, the team finished inside the top 10 in total team receiving yards in the NFL. When they had wide receivers who were all under the age of 27, they finished 16th or lower in total team receiving yards.
The 2022 season may be filled with some growing pains with our young wide receiver corps. But with a little over $16 million in cap space to play with according to OverTheCap.com (not including Ahkello Witherspoon (assuming he actually does sign), and Montravius Adams as of 3/25), the Steelers still don’t have to be big spenders to bring in such a vital piece into the locker room.
For more salary cap information on the Steelers click here.
Do you think bringing in a veteran leader can make a positive impact on our young wide receiver group? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
As of now, the 2022 wide receiver room looks like this:
· Diontae Johnson
· Chase Claypool
· Cody White
· Anthony Miller
· Gunner Olszewski
· Rico Bussey
· Tyler Vaughns
· Steven Sims
All eight players are 27-years-old and under and hold an average age of 24-years-old. Since free agency began on March 16, the Steelers have seen JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud leave to join other teams. While their departures may still sting for Steeler Nation, the silver lining to this is that they were all under 25 and never really made a major impact on games, outside of Smith-Schuster.
Last season, both Smith-Schuster and Claypool dominated headlines with their social media antics while their on-the-field play may have fallen short of fans’ and coaches’ expectations.
While Head Coach Mike Tomlin “doesn’t spend a lot of time focused on those things,” perhaps one thing that he and the front office should focus on is bringing in older talent to make sure the 2022 season isn’t a repeat of last season.
So who is left in free agency who could come in and serve as a mentor to our young guys? We already pitched the idea of bringing in Julio Jones. Even if he doesn’t see the field as much because of his latest history of injuries; at 33-years-old, he can bring the experience to the table to serve as a mentor to the younger guys. Other wide receivers include Jarvis Landry, Jamison Crowder, T.Y. Hilton, A.J. Green, and Odell Beckham Jr., all of whom are at least 29-years-old.
Another benefit of adding a veteran leader is results. Since 2017, when the Steelers had a wide receiver who was 28-years-old or older, the team finished inside the top 10 in total team receiving yards in the NFL. When they had wide receivers who were all under the age of 27, they finished 16th or lower in total team receiving yards.
The 2022 season may be filled with some growing pains with our young wide receiver corps. But with a little over $16 million in cap space to play with according to OverTheCap.com (not including Ahkello Witherspoon (assuming he actually does sign), and Montravius Adams as of 3/25), the Steelers still don’t have to be big spenders to bring in such a vital piece into the locker room.
For more salary cap information on the Steelers click here.
Do you think bringing in a veteran leader can make a positive impact on our young wide receiver group? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
