Steelers insider provides long-awaited optimism on wide receiver gridlock

It has been a very loud offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers. To be fair, this is a loud organization and has been the case ever since Mike Tomlin took over for Bill Cowher. With a complete reshuffling of the deck in the quarterback room, the next big thing the Steelers must address this offseason is who will be the No. 2 wide receiver in the offense to George Pickens? Is he even No. 1 material at this point?

For as much fun as it would be to speculate who it could be on the Steelers' roster, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic does not think that is a smart excerise to entertain. He feels strongly that this player the Steelers' offense is in dire need of is not on the team just yet. Then again, the usually doom and gloom prose that comes out of Kaboly's fingertips was met with some optimism. They'll get a guy!

Here is an excerpt from Kaboly's musings about the Steelers' wide receiver room and what is coming.

"Right now, I'd say Van Jefferson, but to be honest, you can throw [Quez] Watkins, [Cordarrelle] Patterson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Marquez Callaway and Denzel Mims in there as well. Yeah, it's not a good situation, and the Steelers know that. It would show a lack of awareness and urgency if they don't add a legit No. 2 before the seasons starts. And I think they will."

I don't claim to know who the Steelers' supposed target for a No. 2 wide receiver would be, but he would surely be better than whatever they currently have on the roster behind Pickens. To be totally honest, general manager Omar Khan should look at trading for a No. 1 and kicking Pickens down a peg to being a strong No. 2 option. As a No. 1, that is too much pressure to be placed on the guy.

Of course, this will be an Arthur Smith-led offense, so get ready for fullbacks to be all the rage, yinz!

Help could be on the way for the Pittsburgh Steelers' weakened WR corps

With Diontae Johnson playing for the Carolina Panthers, there is a glaring need to get more explosive in the receiving corps for Pittsburgh. At times, Pickens can be that. I know, I watched him do all sorts of things during his three years at Georgia. However, for as much as I love the guy's game, he is not exactly steady. It makes me question why not having Johnson part of this year's team was an option.

Overall, for as much as I think the Steelers have depth in the receiving corps, they do not have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the AFC. While some combination of Russell Wilson or Justin Fields at quarterback could offset the receiving corps' shortcomings, where is the dynamism our souls crave outside the numbers for Pittsburgh? Again, this is a Smith-led offense.

Ultimately, it is going to be more run than throw in the Steelers' offense for as long as Smith is the play-caller. While adding guys who played for him in Atlanta in Cordarrelle Patterson and Scotty Miller could help, his Falcons teams were the epitome of mid at 7-10. Long gone are the days of Jeff Fisher 7-9 B.S. We live in a world where Arthur Smith 7-10 splits are all the rage for coaching malpractice.

Either Khan has something up his sleeve or the Steelers will disappoint in the passing game this fall.