Many view wide receiver as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ top draft priority. According to a panel of anonymous scouts, it might also be the worst possible year to force the issue after passing on the position in the first round for 20 years.
“There’s a decent amount of depth, but there’s no real stud,” an AFC personnel exec told Bob McGinn via Go Long. “Carnell Tate might be the first receiver taken but he wasn’t even the best receiver on his team in college.”
The Steelers have a clear No. 1 and No. 2 already on their roster in DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. They technically only need depth, but you don’t want to draft a player in the first round who will be a No. 3 WR forever. The idea would be for a potential first-rounder to take over as WR1 after a season or two of development.
An average of 5.3 receivers were taken in the first round over the last six drafts. Last year’s class was said to be bad, and four were taken before the end of the first day. Is 2026 set to be even worse?
“You just don’t see first-rounders,” another scout told McGinn. “They just don’t jump out. Mike Evans is a blue player. None of these guys are really blue.”
Here is how the panel of scouts ranked the 2026 receivers:
1. Carnell Tate/Ohio State
2. Makai Lemon/USC
3. Jordyn Tyson/Arizona State
4. Denzel Boston/Washington
5. KC Concepcion/Texas A&M
6. Chris Bell/Louisville
7. Chris Brazzell/Tennessee
8. Omar Cooper Jr./Indiana
9. Zachariah Branch/Georgia
10. Bryce Lance/NDSU
11. Deion Burks/Oklahoma
12. Antonio Williams/Clemson
13. Malachi Fields/Notre Dame
14. Ja’Kobi Lane/USC
15. Elijah Sarratt/Indiana
16. Germie Bernard/Alabama
17. Ted Hurst/Georgia State
“These Denzel Bostons and KC Concepcions and Antonio Williamses of the world, they’re just guys,” a longtime evaluator told McGinn. “Even Makai Lemon, he’s a little guy, a tough guy, but he’s not a No. 1. I like Tate the best of all of them but he’s good, he’s not great. After Tate, in other years they would be second-, third- and fourth-rounders. There’s nothing out there.”
If the Steelers want a difference maker at the position with a chance to develop into a WR1 in the future, these scouts seem to believe Carnell Tate is the lone option. Of course, you can find conflicting opinions in each blurb about the players, but they start to skew quite negative after the top option.
Some of the frequently mocked players to the Steelers didn’t fare well in this exercise. They said Omar Cooper Jr. needs to be schemed open, Makai Lemon is strictly a slot player lacking dynamic athleticism, Denzel Boston is more of a second- or third-rounder, and KC Concepcion doesn’t catch the ball well.
Of course, scouting is identifying traits that can help your team rather than focusing on the negatives. And there are plenty of positive quotes mixed in. All it takes is for the Steelers to fall in love with one guy to make him their selection in the first round.
Assuming Tate is long gone by No. 21, how many receivers must still be around at the top of the list for the Steelers to draft one? If four are already off the board, do they pivot? And if they don’t grab one in the first round, will they even be able to find a difference maker later?
Perhaps a trade up, using some of their 12 draft picks, is in order to secure a top wide receiver talent.
At least this time, they have Michael Pittman Jr. in place — a safety net they didn’t have while learning hard lessons during the 2025 season.
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