Position preview: Wide receiver

[GBMelBlount]

If Brown & Moore stay healthy we really need just one out of a half dozen solid #3 prospects to perform and we should be fine at WR this year.

Wheaton does not seem to be getting much mention.

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This is the next in a series that looks at every position on offense and defense with training camp approaching. Our fourth look is at wide receiver.

Brown
Returning starter: Antonio Brown. There are breakout seasons. Then there is what Brown did in 2013 when there were questions about whether the Steelers had a No. 1 wide receiver following the free-agent loss of Mike Wallace. Brown set a Steelers single-season record with 1,499 receiving yards and his 110 catches were just three shy of establishing a team record in that category.

New faces: Lance Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey. The Steelers signed Moore to a two-year, $3.5 million contract shortly after Jerricho Cotchery signed with the Carolina Panthers. They signed the speedy Heyward-Bey to a veteran minimum contract and he will have to win a spot on the 53-man roster.

On the bubble: Derek Moye. The former undrafted free agent played his way onto the roster last season but he had a hard time getting on the field. The 6-5, 210-pounder caught just two passes for 20 yards and a touchdown, and he will have to hold off Heyward-Bey and 2013 sixth-round pick Justin Brown, among others, to again stick with the Steelers.

By the numbers: Brown had 23 catches that were at least 20 yards last season – one more than Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

Did you know: Danny Coale, who signed with Pittsburgh last January, is the son-in-law of former Steelers offensive lineman and color analyst for the team radio broadcasts Tunch Ilkin. Coale, a fifth-round draft pick by Dallas in 2012, has spent time on the Cowboys’ and Indianapolis Colts’ practice squads.

Quotable: “You can see a different level of confidence in the way they carry themselves. They are no longer rookies. They are no longer looking around at who to follow. They are coming out here and leading their group. I think that’s come from hard work. They didn’t get noticed during the season last year when they were on the practice squad or not getting a ton of reps in games, but everybody out here can see that they were working hard and were continuing to make plays and get better.” – offensive coordinator Todd Haley on second-year wide receivers Markus Wheaton and Brown.

Outlook: The Steelers had significant turnover at the position with the losses of Cotchery and Emmanuel Sanders. They need Wheaton, a 2013 third-round pick, to emerge after a broken pinkie sabotaged most of his rookie season. Moore should prove to be a more than capable replacement for Cotchery and the wild card of the group is rookie Martavis Bryant. The fourth-round pick has an excellent blend of size and speed, and he could help the Steelers this season if he makes steady progress during training camp and preseason practice.

http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/7483/position-preview-wide-receiver

[ALLD]

I would keep Bey to return kicks with Archer putting Moye on the bubble. I saw him drop a critical pass last year. If he doesn't show anything in camp he will be gone like a fart in the wind.

[TMC]

DHB probably won't make the roster. He has yet to see a pass he does not want to drop. I believe that Brown, Moore, Wheaton, and Bryant are roster locks. The key will be who is #5 on the depth chart. That is the battle right now with Brown probably having a slight edge.

How often do we actually see #5 though?


Dri Archer will make the roster as a RB. He was a RB. He is a RB. One of the mistakes his college coach said he made was moving him to WR. He was better when he got touches from the backfield. He will need time if he is to transition to a WR role.

[Mojouw]

DHB probably won't make the roster. He has yet to see a pass he does not want to drop. I believe that Brown, Moore, Wheaton, and Bryant are roster locks. The key will be who is #5 on the depth chart. That is the battle right now with Brown probably having a slight edge.

How often do we actually see #5 though?

Dri Archer will make the roster as a RB. He was a RB. He is a RB. One of the mistakes his college coach said he made was moving him to WR. He was better when he got touches from the backfield. He will need time if he is to transition to a WR role.

If DHB has a good camp, he may make the roster if the Steelers feel having another veteran presence in the meeting room is necessary. The WR corps may be long on talent and potential but is short on experience.

Of course his well note struggles to catch the ball and separate against press coverage may well mean that his "veteraness" is basically useless!

[TMC]

It has already been noted that he is struggling to hold onto the football in OTAs. I doubt he gets better in camp.

[ALLD]

I am down in Florida and only get dribs and drabs of info on the Steelers, so excuse my ignorance on DHB. I don't even listen to a Dolphin report.

[TMC]

I am down in Florida and only get dribs and drabs of info on the Steelers, so excuse my ignorance on DHB. I don't even listen to a Dolphin report.

Did not mean to offend if it sounded like that, just stating the early reports are he works hard, is a good guy, cannot hold onto the football. Brown was running with the first team a lot in OTAs, but it appears that Wheaton was being held out. Bryant had some inconsistency, would flash big play, then not run a great route (or something else). Up and down. They liked they flashes he showed though.

To me, Wheaton is the guy out front for the Z (flanker) with Brown as the X (split end) and Moore as the Y (slot). Now, that could change as the Steelers use their slot a lot slotted between Miller and the Z. I would love to see a talent emerge to play the split end (X) so you could roll Brown back to the same side as Miller and the slot receiver. I think he does better when a team cannot keep a safety over the top of him, not that he cannot handle the X, just think he is much more dangerous as a Z and you have a better chance of getting him one on one down the field in that situation.

It was stated in another article that an AFC personnel guy allegedly said that Brown does not scare anyone. I think they mean as a gamebreaker, kind of like Megatron or even Wallace, where they can take the top off the defense. That is not Brown's game. I like him much more in a role like the one we once used Hines in, where he was the man, just played the Z.

The problem is, in order to move him, you have to have an X. At this point, one has not emerged.