Shortly after he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft, Iowa return specialist Kaden Wetjen made an interesting admission about his trip to the Senior Bowl.
“I actually had some scouts that were, like, ‘We didn’t even know you played receiver. We thought you were just a kick returner,’” the former JUCO running back said.
One could understand how such a mistake could have been made. Wetjen had only 23 catches over three years at Iowa.
Meanwhile, Eli Heidenreich caught 109 passes over three years at Navy. Sixteen of them went for touchdowns. He totaled 1,994 yards through the air as a Midshipman. But he did that playing wing-back.
Also, fifth-round selection Riley Nowakowski caught 32 passes for 327 yards and two scores last year at Indiana. He did that as an H-back.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter where these players line up for the Steelers. Nor does it matter what position defined them in college or at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Given the lack of depth at wide receiver with the Steelers right now, there are passes to be caught in this offense, and anyone who makes the team and has decent hands should be a candidate to catch them.
“I feel comfortable in any position, whether I’m in-line, in the backfield or split out wide. I’ve done a little bit of everything, so I think that’ll definitely help out,” Nowakowski said the day he was drafted.
It appears Nowakowski has a path to make the team if Mike McCarthy chooses to employ an H-back in some capacity, as the Steelers did with Connor Heyward. The Steelers’ new head coach certainly did that with John Kuhn in Green Bay and Hunter Luepke in Dallas.
For Heyward, that was only 44 catches in four years as a Steeler. It could be more for Nowakowski under McCarthy’s approach.
“The goal is to do the best I can and help my team out in any way possible. Whatever I can do to help us out and bring wins and bring us a championship is what I’m going to do,” Nowakowski added.
As for Heidenreich, the odds of making the club from a seventh-round draft position are long. But if the Mt. Lebanon native can pick up the nuances of NFL route running out of the slot in the same way he got himself open from that position and from the backfield at Navy, he could also help the cause.
“It’s a change, for sure. It’s a different type of offense,” Heidenreich acknowledged. “But I think I can adjust. We had three different offenses at Navy. So learning a new playbook is something that I’m a little used to.”
So far, McCarthy seems impressed.
“He’s picked it up. He’s bright. Obviously, has an excellent skill set,” McCarthy said. “You see the quickness that just jumps off the field at you. He seems very comfortable out there.”
If things go according to plan, fellow rookie receiver Germie Bernard will gobble up most of the available targets that don’t go to DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr. or Pat Freiermuth. Darnell Washington will still get his share as primarily a blocking tight end, and Roman Wilson will be… on the roster.
Whatever he does with the chances he gets is up to him in Year 3 as a Steeler.
In his final season with quarterback Aron Rodgers in Green Bay, McCarthy’s Packers threw the ball 640 times. That was the third most in the NFL.
In McCarthy’s first year with Dallas in 2020, the Cowboys passed 639 times, second most behind only Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. McCarthy’s final year in Dallas saw 637 passes, third most in the league.
Injuries will take place. Guys get sick on gamedays. Occasionally, a fan with blue hair might get shoved in the face, and a suspension might happen.
There will be plenty of footballs to go around, and many targets beyond the top three wideouts and Freiermuth at tight end will become available.
If this year’s rookie class can fill that void from non-conventional places, so be it.