SteelerWatch

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day 1: ROUND 3 OR 4
- Day 2: ROUND 5 IF NOT DAY 1

Wide Receiver is a difficult position to analyze in a single post, so this is going to be split into two parts. it’s the only position besides the offensive line — which is actually thee positions — where there can be five on the field at one time. But at times there can be as few as one. It’s a position where depth is extremely important, in part because of the numbers required but also because teams often only keep a single big-play receiver on the roster. A gifted receiver can be a coach’s dream, but also his nightmare. See Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson for a few examples of top-tier players who can polarize an entire nation.

The Steelers’ depth at the position cannot be understated. Right now, the receiving corps. consists of Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Cedric Wilson, Nate Washington, Willie Reid, Lee Mays, Sean Morey, Rasheed Marshall and Walter Young. Ward, Holmes, Wilson and Washington combined for all but four receptions credited to the entire group, but expect the distribution to change a little in 2007. New offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has plans to utilize four-wide-receiver sets more often, taking advantage of historically run-oriented first and second downs to try and spread defenses out. And with only one of those players — Ward — absolutely guaranteed to start in 2007, training camp is going to be a very active time for the group.

The future — beyond 2007 — needs to be figured into the Steelers’ immediate plans. Hines Ward will be entering his 10th season come September, and the Super Bowl XL MVP is coming off a season in which injuries became far more common than he’s become accustomed to in his career. He was forced to sit out two games in 2006 — twice what he had missed in the previous eight seasons combined — but his production still managed to fall pretty much in line with his numbers from the previous five seasons. However, his salary cap numbers are beginning to reach the level that most people would consider “astronomical” for people not named Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. He’s due just short of $6 million this season, and by 2009 that number will be approaching $9 million. Not one Steelers fan would want to see Ward become a cap casualty, but given his price and age two years from now, it remains a possibility.

Here and now, it’s a safe bet to assume Cedric Wilson will be let go. He’s due $500,000 as a prorated portion of his signing bonus and a base salary of $1.9 million. Cutting Wilson means the team is stuck with his signing bonuses of $500,000 in both 2007 and 2008 counting against the cap, but that’s a far cry from the $1.9 million they’d save.

Those two aside, the money for the remaining receivers is astoundingly low, so it’s a pretty good assumption that all will return. The group has two wildcards: Washington and Reid. Washington had an acceptable season for a fourth receiver, with 35 catches and four touchdowns. Reid spent most of the season injured, so the jury remains out on him.

In Part 2, we will take a closer look at Santonio Holmes, make some predictions about the team’s future at Wide Receiver and examine other changes we can expect come September.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 23rd, 2007 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Before the Draft, Offense. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.