Despite having an outstanding 1-2 punch at running back in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and a talented tight end in Pat Freiermuth that fits well into new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s offense, the lack of depth and overall talent at the receiver position behind George Pickens is a glaring problem that many just can’t seem to look past.
That includes ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.
In a piece Wednesday morning for ESPN.com ranking teams by their playmaker groups, the Steelers were ranked near the bottom of the league due to that hole at receiver behind Pickens. In Barnwell’s rankings, receivers are weighed more heavily than running backs, which is how the league views things, and he’s only going off of the top five contributor offensively, based on his criteria.