Since the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers on March 12, fans have waited for a big-name wide receiver signing to fill the void. So far, the team has added Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins, two depth options but not exactly eye-popping acquisitions. The Steelers have reportedly expressed interest in veteran free agent wideout Tyler Boyd, who could instantly start in the slot, but it doesn’t appear that any progress has been made on that front. Meanwhile, Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors ran rampant around the Internet for several days, but San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch shut down those rumors yesterday.
In his weekly Q&A for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers beat reporter Ray Fittipaldo was asked about potential trades for a wide receiver.
“The trade talks have quieted,” Fittipaldo wrote.
Fittipaldo tends to have the inside scoop on Steelers news, so it’s a bit discouraging to hear from him that there may not be any new wide receiver targets in the trade market. At this point, it’s expected that the Steelers will take a wide receiver at some point in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, but banking on one rookie to fill out the depth chart won’t be enough. Trading for a receiver the caliber of Aiyuk may be too costly for the Steelers right now, but there could be some cheaper trade options worth exploring, and Omar Khan has proven he can get talented players for a discounted price.
Addressing the media on Monday, Khan said that it’s “safe to say we’re going to continue to add to the [wide receiver] room.” It seems like trading for a wide receiver is less likely than adding another free agent wideout and drafting a rookie. But if we’ve learned anything this offseason, it’s to expect the unexpected from the Steelers this year. Khan is committed to doing everything possible for the Steelers to get another Lombardi trophy, and his offseason acquisitions show that the Steelers are in a win-now mode even more than they have been in the past few years.
Later in his discussion of wide receiver options, Fittipaldo wrote, “As for the second and third receiver options…there is work to be done. I view Watkins and Jefferson as 4 and 5 types more than 3s. Seems like [the Steelers] have an abundance of 4s and 5s with Calvin Austin [III] too. Maybe [the Steelers] feel better about one of those guys than the rest of us.”
Adding two solid starting wide receivers would make this unit feel much more complete. It’s hard to feel great about Watkins, Jefferson, or Austin stepping up as a dependable WR3, considering where Jefferson is in his career and what we’ve seen from Watkins and Austin so far in their careers. That said, it only takes one of them to elevate their game, and paired with an early-round rookie, the receiving corps could be more than serviceable. It’s possible that one of those three emerges alongside George Pickens, exceeding expectations from fans and the media.
For now, trading for a receiver is unlikely, but rumors could spring up in an instant. No matter how they do it, the Steelers will fill out their receiver room, and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will have a chance to build chemistry with some new faces in Pittsburgh.
