PITTSBURGH -- Nearly every draft season, the media ask Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert about his team's success in drafting wide receivers.

The track record validates the questioning. The Steelers have flipped second-, fourth- and sixth-round picks into a deadly trio. Antonio Brown is the game's best sixth-round pick since Tom Brady.

The Steelers have needs that will be hard to ignore high in the draft later this month. But receiver wasn't a major need when they drafted JuJu Smith-Schuster 62nd overall last year, a move no one in Pittsburgh regrets.

The Steelers -- whose first pick in the upcoming NFL draft will be No. 28 in the first round -- will be looking hard at playmakers from all angles.

"Wide receivers, obviously, you want big, fast, the ability to get in and out of a break, the ability to catch the ball in competitive situations, the ability to run after the catch and the ability to block," Colbert said about what he looks for in wideouts. "It’s really not that complicated when you boil it down. They come in all different sizes and shapes. They all have different talents that make them unique amongst themselves, but there is really not one specific pattern that we look for."

The Steelers' receiver room will look similar to last season's after the re-signing of Justin Hunter to a one-year deal.

Brown is the do-it-all receiver, Smith-Schuster will work inside and out and Martavis Bryant will be the vertical threat. The Steelers have expressed interest in re-signing Eli Rogers, who provides depth in the slot but is coming off an ACL tear. Hunter makes enough breathtaking plays in practice that the Steelers will roll him out on a few Sundays. Darrius Heyward-Bey has perfected the "gunner" role on special teams and can make the occasional play on offense.

The Steelers weren't wowed by trade offers for Bryant, but they were wise to keep him. He averaged more than 17 yards per catch in his final four games last season and still commands respect from opposing secondaries. Bryant might part ways with Pittsburgh, but the Steelers will get his best for at least one more season.

Smith-Schuster "probably exceeded our expectations" with his 917-yard debut, Colbert said, and Smith-Schuster vows to become a complete receiver in Year 2.

Brown turns 30 this summer and should have at least two more seasons atop the NFL receiver pantheon.

Even if Rogers doesn't fully recover from his knee injury, the Steelers are comfortable at receiver. But the franchise has had enough success drafting the position that they can't ignore it.

A chunk-play artist such as James Washington on Day 2 would be a lot of fun for this offense. Colbert knows what he wants.

"The ability to catch, obviously, is a huge component of that, but [there's also] competitive catch ability," Colbert said. "The ability to catch when covered or in traffic, because in the NFL, you will always be covered and always in traffic if there is not a coverage bust, so you have to have that ability, and only certain guys can do that."