The Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Omar Khan have been quite busy this offseason, moving and shaking in free agency and the trade market, reshaping the roster in a major way.
Despite that moving and shaking and the general buzz around the team, there are still some holes on the roster that need filled in free agency, particularly on the offensive side of the football.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has a solution for some of those needs on the offensive side of the football for Khan and the Steelers.
Those would be veteran offensive tackle David Bakhtiari and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, both of whom were cut this offseason by the Green Bay Packers and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively.
Bakhtiari, 32, has dealt with some major knee injuries recently, limiting him to just 13 games over the last three seasons. But, if healthy, he can still play at a high level. With Broderick Jones, Dan Moore Jr., Dylan Cook and Spencer Anderson as the only realistic tackle options on their roster right now, the Steelers could find themselves looking for a veteran.
Bakhtiari fits that mold for Barnwell, who listed the Steelers as the best fit for the former Green Bay great.
“In terms of starting left tackle opportunities, the Steelers seem like the obvious fit. Broderick Jones, a first-rounder in 2023, might not yet be seasoned enough to move to the left side, and while Dan Moore has improved at left tackle, the Steelers could stand to give him some competition,” Barnwell writes regarding the Steelers as the best fit for Bakhtiari. “Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are going to need all the help they can get, and taking a shot on a potential franchise left tackle on a one-year deal with incentives is the sort of swing Pittsburgh should take given what it’s saving on spending at quarterback.”
While Moore has certainly improved and is an impact run blocker, he was the worst pass-blocking left tackle in football last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Steelers could theoretically flip Jones to the left side now, a move that GM Omar Khan hinted could be coming as soon as this year. That would allow the Steelers to target a right tackle in the 2024 NFL Draft like Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga or Georgia’s Amarius Mims.
Pittsburgh could also dive into the free agency pool again, too, and take a look at tackle options there. Bakhtiari is certainly a big name, but his best days are well behind him from a health standpoint.
After trading WR Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for cornerback Donte Jackson, the Steelers opened up a rather large hole opposite George Pickens. Khan hasn’t filled it — yet — as he’s reportedly doing his due diligence on the trade market.
If nothing comes from the trade market, a player like Renfrow could be an option for the Steelers and would be a good fit, according to Barnwell.
“Diontae Johnson has been traded to the Panthers, and while the Steelers signed Van Jefferson, the former Rams wideout hasn’t been effective for most of his pro career. Renfrow would compete with Calvin Austin for reps as the team’s third receiver and return man,” Barnwell writes regarding Renfrow as a fit for the Steelers.
Renfrow seems to be a popular name tied to the Steelers from the media and fans side of things. A former star at Clemson who came on strong early in his career with the Raiders while catching passes from Derek Carr, Renfrow had fizzled out in recent years before his release.
After catching 103 passes for 1,308 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021, Renfrow has hauled in just 61 passes combined in the last two seasons for 585 yards and two touchdowns in 27 games. Renfrow didn’t miss a game last season and still put up the worst numbers of his career while playing the fewest snaps of his career.
Renfrow turned 28 in December and still has some decent football ahead of him in the right system. Though the Steelers have a need for a slot receiver, Renfrow likely isn’t the best fit for new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s scheme. He’s small and doesn’t block all that well, which are seemingly two negatives for Smith’s scheme in what he looks for in receivers.
There are options out there for the Steelers in free agency to potentially plug some holes offensively, but the names that Barnwell offers up don’t make much sense overall.
