Pittsburgh Steelers: Isaiah McKoy another MAC success story?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some nice success at the wide receiver position from the MAC conference. Can Isaiah McKoy be the next?

The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have a ton of openings for major playing time at the wide receiver position in 2021. That doesn’t mean they can’t unearth some gems throughout the coming weeks of training camp and preseason play, however.

One of the conferences the Steelers have had some outstanding success finding talent at the wide receiver position in recent years is in the MAC.

Most notably, the Pittsburgh Steelers found Antonio Brown out of Central Michigan back in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and at least on the field, he managed to put together one of the best decades of football of any player at any position in the league.

As Brown’s time with the Pittsburgh Steelers came to a close, the Diontae Johnson era began.

Johnson, of course, was a featured part of MAC-tion in his time at Toledo, especially in 2017 and 2018.

He has become the WR1 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in terms of yards and targets and is poised for a major breakthrough in his third NFL season in 2021.

With the success of Brown and now Johnson, could the Steelers have another gem from the MAC on their hands in undrafted rookie Isaiah McKoy?

Pittsburgh Steelers hope to continue positive trend with Isaiah McKoy

The Steelers list McKoy at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. A slender receiver prospect, McKoy is hoping his tape and production translate to the next level despite poor testing metrics at the Kent State pro day.

Perhaps McKoy caught the pro day on a really off day physically, because those poor numbers are not reflected in what you see from this guy on the field.

McKoy is just a perfect fit for a vertical passing attack and he has a really natural feel for getting himself open, making subtle moves in space to create yardage after the catch, and really strong hands to all levels of the field.

The pandemic shortened the 2020 season for Kent State to just four games, but McKoy managed to still have 455 receiving yards (over 18 per reception) and five touchdowns after racking up a line of 56/872/8 the season prior.

He posted four receptions for 85 yards and a 53-yard score against Auburn in 2019 and showed that perhaps his testing numbers are a bit deceiving when it comes to what he can actually do in terms of play speed.

Although McKoy undoubtedly is facing an uphill battle to even make the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster, he has intriguing skills as a vertical threat on the outside or from the slot and is playing in a very favorable scheme to suit his skills.