Brandon Smith

And we talked about that.

Uh, you know, I liked what I heard from Brandon Smith when I talked to him in the locker room after practice on Wednesday, there's a quiet confidence there.

There's an excitement there that kind of bleeds over into confidence, but, uh, It's a journeyman, undrafted, UFL guy, Isaiah Hodgins potentially once upon a time, a decent enough prospect coming out of college that hasn't really worked out.

I just don't know that the depth that this receivers room has.

Mike McCarthy said that as much today.

So I'd be interested to see how much they weigh on 12 versus 11 personnel, which is much more Mike McCarthy speed.

And I think it comes down to the offensive line more so for the Steelers, if they can continue to push forward and like more so not because of, for Jalen Warren's sake, But just to keep Aaron Rodgers upright, give the Brandon Smiths and Isaiah Hodgins, if we see them on Sunday, give them a little bit more time to get open, if possible, to make it happen for Rodgers.

But if Rodgers struggles to stay upright on Sunday, I think Tampa Bay wins this one easily.

and you've

got to bring up – what's his name? Brandon Smith.

Smith, right? Because there's two Brandons on the practice squad.

Wide receivers.

There's Brandon Smith, Brandon Johnson.

Brandon is the

one that was elevated last week.

Yeah, Brandon Smith was elevated last week.

D'Angelo Williams to Le'Veon Bell.

I'd like to see Aaron Rodgers complete a pass of roughly 20 yards up the left sideline to Brandon Smith, who will turn around with such precise timing that it'll look like the ball is there waiting for him, as it lands between the 8 and the 7 on his chest.

And ideally, it looks like a play that they've pulled off only about a billion times beforehand.

You know why? Because they have.

But which of the practice squad wide receivers has the biggest upside?

I'd probably say Brandon Smith right now-

Mm

... just because of that ...

That matters.

Uh, so I would s- I, I ...

It might be a different situation on a different team, uh, but I would say for this team, this quarterback, this offense, I would say Brandon Smith.

I would say it's Brandon Smith as well.

The Steelers are in dire need of a receiver, and this is a guy who they viewed as hopefully being a receiver slash returner, and it doesn't really sound like they're wanting to use him in that receiver role.

Even when they're in this dire need, they're looking at practice squad guys like Brandon Smith, et cetera, to fill in that role.

And then you look at what he's doing on special teams.

It just hasn't been good enough, especially on kick return.

But which of the practice squad wide receivers has the biggest upside?

I'd probably say Brandon Smith right now-

Mm-hmm

... just because of that...

Uh, so I would s- s- I, I...

It might be a different situation on a different team.

Uh, but I would say for this team, this quarterback, this offense, I would say Brandon Smith.

I would say it's Brandon Smith as well.

You got Noah Kowski can catch the football out of the backfield there.

And then as far as the other wide receivers to fill out the depth chart, you know, they elevated Brandon Smith from the practice squad last week.

I thought, uh, in the second half, he obviously didn't have any catches, but he was real, uh, useful in the run game and the blocking.

He helped free Jalen Warren up on that, uh, long touchdown run 50 yards in the second half as well too.

So, uh, I think you'll see Brandon Smith get some snaps this week.

We'll see if they elevate a guy like maybe Brandon Johnson from the practice squad.

But as of right now, I don't think you're gonna see them go outside the organization, at least for another week here to, to, to add a wide receiver, uh, to this roster.

And that leaves three wide receivers on the active roster.

Although rookie Kaden Weiigen out of Iowa has yet to play an offensive snap this season, the team has three more wideouts on the practice squad, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers expressed his faith in Brandon Smith, Brandon Johnson, Isaiah Hodgins while discussing the team's options on Wednesday.

They also got Jeremy Bernard.

We'll see about Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.