Steelers Could Look To Catapult Into The Top Half Of The First Round To Acquire Top Three Receiver Prospect

The Pittsburgh Steelers are clearly interested in adding some quality wide receivers to the roster before the 2024 season. They have been rumored to be in trade talks with teams around the league. It can also be assumed that they will be using one of their higher picks in the 2024 NFL Draft on a receiver, and there is also a possibility that they could trade up. Pittsburgh already needed help at receiver, but once General Manager Omar Khan decided to trade away Diontae Johnson, some quality additions at the position seemed inevitable. 

George Pickens remains the only starting-caliber receiver on the Steelers roster. They brought it Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins, who could both be considered options for the team's third receiver spot, along with Calvin Austin III. The Steelers need a second option at receiver that could take pressure off Pickens, and at this point in the offseason, it seems that player will be coming from the draft. 

Since the wide receiver class is so deep, Pittsburgh is in a good spot to get a receiver who can contribute immediately in the second round, but Mina Kimes suggested on NFL Live that Pittsburgh could look to trade up in the first to land one of the top prospects, Rome Odunze. 

"I don't think I've seen a single mock draft that doesn't have the Falcons taking Dallas Turner at eight. I wanna throw you a possibility though, if you're the Falcons, and you get a call from a team looking to trade up because they want to leap frog the Bears for Rome Odunze, it could be the Jets, it could be the Colts, it could be the Steelers. Do you consider it if you believe Turner isn't significantly better than the other pass-rushers?"

The priority of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft for most of the NFL is offense. The Atlanta Falcons are expected to take the first defensive player with the eighth overall pick, which means they can certainly be open to trading back due to everyone else focusing on offense. 

The Steelers are just one of many teams that desperately need a receiver like Odunze. The Buffalo Bills could be interested in moving up to that spot after trading Stefon Diggs, as can a team like the Indianapolis Colts who are penciled in to pick at 15. 

If Odunze is still on the board by the eighth pick, it is likely he will end up with the Chicago Bears or New York Jets, who have the ninth and tenth pick, respectively. This is what makes the Falcons selection at eight so valuable to wide receiver-needy teams picking in the back half of the first round. 

Odunze is a highly-touted prospect, who is most often considered the second or third best wide receiver in the class. He recorded over 1,600 receiving yards in his last season at Washington, and should be considered the best pure route-runner in the class.

Steelers Would Be Smart To Pair Odunze With Pickens

Odunze would be a great complimentary player to Pickens that would take a lot of the defense's focus off of the third-year receiver. Pittsburgh traded away their best route-runner when they parted ways with Johnson, so Odunze would fill that role while also being a more physically daunting presence than Johnson ever was. 

Odunze stands at 6'3" and has great speed as he ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, where the Steelers spent some time with the incoming rookie. This isn't the first time Pittsburgh has been named as a trade-up candidate for a receiver like Odunze and Pittsburgh has certainly done their due diligence on the incoming rookie, despite him being pencilled in as a top-10 pick and the Steelers currently not picking until 20. 

Do you want to see the Steelers move up in the first round? Let us know in the comments below!

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