Iowa receiver and returner Kaden Wetjen and the Pittsburgh Steelers might be a perfect match. Not just in jersey color scheme but in fit and need. Wetjen is the most potent kick and punt returner in this year’s NFL Draft, an area where Pittsburgh could sure use a jolt. Speaking to reporters Friday, including our own Ryan Paglia, Wetjen confirmed he has an excellent formal meeting with the Steelers.
“One of my better [meetings],” Wetjen said, confirming to Paglia that it was a formal interview.
Though listed as and working out with the receivers, Wetjen (whose last name is pronounced Wee-jen) made his college mark on special teams. Over the past two seasons, he recorded an incredible six returns for touchdowns. Four on punts, two on kicks. His four scores in 2025 earned him All-American honors. A simple scheme allowed Wetjen to play fast and to his instincts.
“Schematically, we did the same return every year,” he said. “Just did a middle return, kinda let us do whatever. And we did wall returns in the past, but, just kinda seeing what works the best and what didn’t. I think that also helped play, played a factor into it. Honestly just getting the unit all together and knowing that we had a chance to score every single time we got on the field was one of the biggest parts.”
That chemistry produced moments like this.
Pittsburgh hasn’t returned a kick for a touchdown in nine years. JuJu Smith-Schuster was the last to do so during the regular-season finale of his rookie season. A stretch of that drought included the NFL’s low point in returns that were rare to happen.
But the new kickoff model created for the 2024 season has revived the play. The Steelers have lagged behind, finishing bottom five in average each year. In 2024, signing Cordarrelle Patterson went belly-up. In 2025, starting running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell held the role after Kaleb Johnson’s kickoff blunder.
Wetjen would be a perfect solution. But as the draft’s best returner, the Steelers won’t be the only team to have interest in him.
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