In years past, the Pittsburgh Steelers have often had a prototype for a slot receiver, at least from the team’s perspective. Those slot receivers have been guys like Hines Ward and JuJu Smith-Schuster, guys that can make plays after the catch by breaking tackles and moving the chains.
They might not have been the flashiest route runners, the fastest players on the field, or even the smallest and shiftiest like other teams employ, but the players in the mold of Ward and Smith-Schuster performed at a relatively high level out of the slot throughout their careers.
Now, as the Steelers transition into a new era with Ben Roethlisberger under center and Smith-Schuster off to Kansas City to play with Patrick Mahomes, Pittsburgh is searching for a new presence in the slot.