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Editors note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2026 season.
The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with two players each day between June 13 and July 28.
Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
TE LAKE McREE Experience/age: rookie, 23 Contract status: $910,000 cap hit in 2026, signed through 2028 with $25,000 guaranteed The past: USCs passing offense featured star receiver Makai Lemon, but McRee proved himself to be a reliable option to move the chains.
Last season, 21 of his 30 catches resulted in a first down.
He was targeted 40 times and finished the year with 450 yards, four touchdowns and two drops as the teams third-leading receiver.
In five seasons, McRee compiled 1,154 yards and seven touchdowns on 97 catches.
The second-team All-Big Ten player showed a knack for making tough catches.
Pro Football Focus credited him with making seven contested catches, a total that tied for 10th most among all FBS tight ends in 2025.
Draft guru Todd McShay ranked McRee as the 13th-best tight end prospect in the 2026 draft class.
However, McRee went undrafted, likely hurt by a lackluster showing at USC pro day.
His 4.73-second time in the 40-yard dash was slower than 16 of the 18 tight ends who ran at the NFL combine.
His vertical leap (3112 inches) and broad jump (9 feet, 3 inches) wouldve ranked him last.
McRee has had two major knee injuries in his career.
He tore an ACL as a high school sophomore and again at USC in 2023.
2026 outlook: The Steelers signed the Austin, Texas, native as a free agent one day after he went undrafted.
He is one of six tight ends on the teams preseason roster.
The 6-foot-4, 243-pounder is not the biggest of the group but did establish himself as both a willing blocker and pass catcher in college.
As a senior, he was used as an in-line tight end on 55% of his snaps.
In all, 404 of his 720 offensive plays were blocking opportunities the third-most among Big Ten tight ends last year.
Twenty-two tight ends got selected in the most recent NFL Draft.
The Steelers used a fifth-round pick on Indiana tight end Riley Nowakowski with plans of using the undersized rookie at fullback.
Based on recent rosters, the Steelers have room for one more traditional tight end on the depth chart behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.
The team began last season with three on the 53-man roster.
Eighth-year pro Robert Tonyan might seem to hold an early edge on the job having previously played with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.