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So talk is Van Jefferson is probably Steelers #2 starting WR to start the season.....Not feeling very good about this. I remember seeing him ranked #63 out of 64 starting wrs last year at being able to get open on initial route. Only the Panthers rookie Jonathan Mingo was ranked lower. The whole offseason the Pittsburgh press has been clamoring on how we were going to make some BIG MOVE at WR. Doesn't look like that will occur. I guess if Van Jefferson stinks Arthur Smiths offense throwing more to tight ends might hide this flaw a little. Here's hoping that Roman Wilson bounces back sooner than later.
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I really thought we may take a run at Treylon Burks from Tennessee, but with Hopkinson lost for 6 weeks that won't happen
Jefferson had 50 receptions in 2021 so he doesn't suck. May just need to be in the right situation. I also hoping for Austin to be used much more
I don't expect we see a significant contribution from Roman Wilson until the last quarter of the season once he comes back and gets a feel for the NFL game. He is a rookie and it takes time"My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!" -
For whatever reason VanJ wasn't featured much in ATL's offense last season. Maybe it was because he wasn't open? Dunno. I do know that he was a downfield target with the second most air yards on their WR corp.
I see Wilson as more of a DJ on short and intermediate routes once he gets back on the field.Comment
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This is 2024. What he did on a championship Rams team in 2021 that had a good QB means Jack. He had 24 catches in 2022, and just 20 in 2023 on two teams. ( Rams and Falcons )
He is just a guy these days. The mix of Austin, and Wilson is a good one. Austin brings some elite speed and , and Wilson is fast in his own right, tearing it up in the middle routes. Van Jefferson is the older veteran.
Trust coach Art Smith to play them according to the strengths. He has transformed our offense as a coach. I think Wilson will be or #2 WR by October. Lot 's of new faces on the Offense. I think we will be better across the board of offense. RUNNING and PASSING.
This need for a 2nd WR story is the media over blowing things. The #2 WR on the Steelers will be 4th in total catches, behind Pickens, Muth, and Warren.Last edited by Joel Buchsbaum; 08-04-2024, 07:31 AM.Tomlin hasn't won a playoff game in seven years and counting. The earliest will be eight years. I guess that in Art Rooney's II, opinion is worth a 3 year extension.
Our 2024 draft looks to be grade A. Our 2023 draft is an A. The roster is talented, but Mike Tomlin is still the head coach.
*** Mike Tomlin is the best coach since the AFL- NFL merger that has not won a playoff game in 8 seasons or more. It's either him or Lewis. ***Comment
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Seems everyone forgot overnight who the OC is and what kind of offense he runs. #2 will be 6th or 7th in targets no matter who he is.Comment
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Jefferson isn't a good WR. It won't matter with the ancient offense we'll be running. What Tomlin wants is what we'll get unfortunately.Comment
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I think that the "number two" WR is more likely to be a combo who changes for different packages. I expect to see Jefferson, Austin, and Wilson across from Pickens at different times in 2 WR sets.Comment
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Good incite sfto. This is very possible if you look at the target share of ATL receivers last season. The #1 receiver, #1 and #2 RBs and TEs are in the teens in % target share. The target share for WR2 - 5 drops to single digits, and they are all within a percent or two of each other, meaning a lot of mixing and matching with the #1s.Comment
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I get that this was true last season (2023), where his WR2 didn't get many targets (110, 30). This is because they had a TE2 that could take a large number of targets (Smith with 70).
They did have 4 guys with 70+ targets. And is we did that, I think the 4th guy has to be WR2 (because we don't have that 2nd high volume TE IMO). Or if we did, it's a huge jump in targets for Heyward (who I think should still be a situational guy) and Washington (who had 10 targets last year).
But Smith was still HC of the Falcons in 2022. Top two target getters were WRs (Jefferson 117, Zaccheaus 61).
In 2021, he had WRs with 2nd (94) and 4th (53) most targets. If no one gets hurt, we probably want our WRs to be 1st and 4th this year - GP, PF, Warren, WR2.
I think realistically, we'll need a 4th receiving option that's going to need to get something like 50-60 targets. Given our personnel, I think that probably has to be a 2nd WR. Because I don't think we'll (1) put Heyward on the field enough to get that many targets, (2) increase Washington's targets by that much, and (3) won't give Najee almost twice as many targets (without reducing Warren's targets) because Najee isn't on the field as much in passing situations and we won't run pony to have them both out at the same time.Comment
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I know that we?ve all been hearing rumors about Brandon Aiyuk for months now but today feels a little different, at least on X it does.Obviously the standard is the standard.Comment
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The last WR to get a market leading contract from the Steelers was AB. Aiyuk couldn't sniff AB's jock, so that is not going to happen. The ONLY way I see the Steelers breaking the bank on a WR is if Pickens is out for the season. Otherwise, they roll with who they got.Comment
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I'm kind of torn on Aiyuk. Having another big-play guy that defenses have to double can just unlock the entire playbook. As long as the play at QB is above the line, this would look to be a nearly unstoppable offense.
BUT, they are likely to lean more on the running game and you have to wonder how many balls a guy like Aiyuk is going to get...especially with Pickens on the other side.
Is it worth not just the contract and trade compensation, but also the ripple effect with Pickens' contract when it begins to come up?
I'm leaning towards yes, just because of the potential impact it could have THIS year. 2025 and beyond can be dealt with after this season. If Khan can get him and sign him at something semi-reasonable, I'd say "pull the trigger."sigpic
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