FOXBOROUGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers know how to draft receivers. Great receivers.
Among those coming up through the pipeline are Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, just to name a few. From the first round, and beyond, they’ve had a knack for landing 1,000-yard receivers.
Smith-Schuster, who will be returning to Pittsburgh for the first time since departing in 2022 to play with the Kansas City Chiefs before landing with the Patriots, tried to pinpoint the secret to their success hitting on wideouts.
“I honestly don’t know. But their scouting is very different,” said Smith-Schuster, who didn’t explain what that meant. “I’ll say everyone that’s been a part of that team, they’ve been there for a long time. Mike Tomlin, the scouting department, (GM) Omar Khan, they’ve all been there.”
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Khan has been with the Steelers organization since 2001, Tomlin since 2007. Still, there seems more to it than longevity with the same leaders in place.
Bill Belichick has also been with the Patriots a long time. He just hasn’t had the same luck drafting at that position.
“Yeah, the Steelers have been able to draft receivers that play early, play fast, and start right away,” Smith-Schuster agreed.
The receiver was a second-round pick by the Steelers in 2017. He played five seasons there, before moving on to Kansas City last year, winning a Super Bowl. Smith-Schuster said with the Terrible Towels waving, and the playing of “Renegade” which has been a staple since 2005 to get the defense and crowd amped up, it’s a unique experience.
“I’m excited (to go back),” he said ahead of the Thursday night game with the Men of Steel. “Nothing too crazy. I just wanna win.”
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