Four wide receivers the Steelers could pick in the 2025 draft

By Rhys Knott

Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith famously prefers running backs to quarterbacks. He spent three seasons as head coach in Atlanta with a 36-year-old Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke under centre. But as the Chiefs demonstrate year after year, you need a passing offense to win the AFC. 

George Pickens is the headline act in the Steelers’ receiving corps, but Calvin Austin III caught more touchdowns in 2024. The problem is Pat Freiermuth caught the same number of touchdowns as Pickens and Austin III combined! 

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Only eight teams scored fewer passing touchdowns than Pittsburgh, and of those teams, only the Seahawks and Texans achieved winning records (oddly they also finished 10-7). Even with Arthur Smith’s desire to run the ball, that’s bad (he called 49 more run plays than pass plays in the regular season). 

One thing is for sure, there’s no quick fix, especially when there’s only one quarterback on the roster right now! Offensive line depth is a huge issue in Pittsburgh too. Five linemen were out injured by the end of their five-game losing streak! However, the easiest problem to fix in the upcoming draft is their receiving corps. 

The Steelers drafted Roman Wilson in 2024, and while he caught 12 touchdowns for Michigan in his senior year, the rookie only played eight snaps last season! The majority of Pittsburgh’s receivers are physically very similar. Pickens is the only one with a big catch radius and ability to outmuscle defensive backs. That’s why it was so easy for DBs to take him out of the game by engaging him in some off-the-ball shenanigans. 

Tre Harris, Ole Miss

At 6-feet-2 Harris is one inch shorter than Pickens, but he’s five pounds heavier and very difficult to stop once he’s got the ball. So he’s like a less fight-y George Pickens. 

Harris caught short passes during his time in college and beat defenders on deep routes too. He clocked a pretty ordinary 4.54 second 40-yard time at the combine, but it’s his ability to battle through man coverage and break tackles that really stand out. 

He caught 220 passes in his five-year college career, hauling in 29 touchdowns in 51 games. In his final year at Ole Miss, the 23-year-old averaged 128.8 receiving yards per game! The 40-yard time may see him slip down the draft, but he projects as a high second-round pick, it wouldn’t be a huge reach if the Steelers took him at 21. 

Jayden Higgins, Iowa State

Higgins is the same height as Pickens, but 14 pounds heavier! They both ran 4.47-second 40-yard times, and Higgins might be the best mover in the draft class. Someone with his physical presence rarely shares his level of body control. 

According to the NFL NextGen Stats Draft Model, Higgins is the fourth-ranked receiver at the combine. He only spent two years in an FBS college and faced Big 12 defenses, but he averaged 15.5 yards per touch during his career. 

The 22-year-old projects as a third-round pick, but he should go much higher after his combined performance. 

Savion Williams, TCU

Imagine a young, taller Cordarelle Patterson—that’s Williams. Williams is 6-foot-4 and just two pounds lighter than Patterson at 218. They even ran similar 40-yard times. Williams clocked a 4.48, compared to Patterson’s 4.42 back in 2013. 

Williams lined up at running back and receiver for TCU and averaged 10.2 yards per touch on offense during his five-year career. Like Patterson, he also returned kicks during his time in college, averaging 22.3 yards per return. The Texas native even threw three passes in his final year in Fort Worth, completing them all for a total of 22 yards and a touchdown. 

Arthur Smith is hardly synonymous with exciting and inventive trick plays, but if the Steelers want a swiss-army knife who can run the ball and line up on the outside, Williams is their man.  He projects as an early third-round pick, watching Williams makes you wonder why the Commanders traded for Deebo Samuel. 

Elic Ayomanor, Stanford

Ayomanor doesn’t play as fast as he tests, but he’s really strong. He’s too strong to be bullied by defenders while he goes up and makes catches. His 4.44 40-yard time might be the shock of the combine, as he rarely ran past defenders during his time at Stanford. 

The 21-year-old is a very Steelers receiver. He’s at home making tough catches over the middle. Ayomanor even comes up with the ball when he’s tangling with defenders, or there are three defensive backs competing for it.  

His ball skills stand out, and he holds the Stanford record for the most receiving yards, with a whopping 294 against Colorado! He missed his entire freshman year injured but spent most of his 2024 season making an average quarterback look very good.  

After Stanford swapped the Pac-12 for the ACC, Ayomanor’s stats took a step back last year. He had one more pass as a junior, with 63, but had 182 fewer yards with 831. The Jon Cornish trophy winner hauled in six scoring passes in both years though. 

According to NextGen Stats, the Canadian ranked 16th among receivers at the combine. He is considered a second-round pick, but after his impressive 40-yard time, he could go earlier. 

RHYS KNOTT

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes

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