Steelers' wide receivers, tight ends, running backs disrespected in new ESPN ranking
· Yahoo Sports
Disrespect is nothing new to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but this is getting ridiculous. Every NFL team's skill-position talent has been ranked by ESPN, and the Steelers have once again been severely underestimated.
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The Steelers, on paper, have arguably a top-five offensive unit. But ESPN's Bill Barnwell believes Pittsburgh's playmakers belong in the bottom half of the league as the No. 21 ranked team.
"… Michael Pittman Jr. is a good fit for what Aaron Rodgers wants to do (get the ball out quickly for short completions) but a bad fit for what the Steelers need (a wide receiver who can stretch teams downfield)," Barnewell wrote. "Second-round pick Germie Bernard should be an upgrade on Calvin Austin III, and it's fair to pin the problems creating big plays on the quarterback and his desire to stay clean, but the Steelers need to find a way to create explosive plays in 2026.
"There are fun players around the receivers. Jaylen Warren has been able to handle almost exactly half of a running back rotation reasonably well. Rico Dowdle was prime Marshawn Lynch for a couple of weeks last season. Darnell Washington is one of the least fun players to tackle on the planet. Pat Freiermuth can go missing for stretches, but he's also still capable enough to produce big games, like the 111-yard, two-score performance he put together in the shootout against the Bengals last season. There are no bad players here, but they could really use a vintage season from [DK] Metcalf."
The Steelers deserve more respect than simply saying their offense has "no bad players," as their wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs make this unit the most complete it's been in years.
Clearly, the new-look Steelers offense has some doubters to silence, and fans will get a better idea of what Mike McCarthy has in store when training camp kicks off in late July.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers' wide receivers, tight ends, running backs disrespected in new ESPN ranking