Coming out of the 2024 NFL Draft, there is one clear spot on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster that still needs addressed. That would be the wide receiver position, particularly a strong No. 2 opposite George Pickens.
Though the Steelers came away with Michigan’s Roman Wilson at No. 84 overall in the third round, giving them a receiver they coveted throughout the pre-draft process, Pittsburgh still needs to do more behind Pickens and Wilson.
Veterans Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins, as well as third-year pro Calvin Austin III and Reserve/Futures wide receiver Marquez Callaway are certainly fine pieces to have, but they aren’t exactly needle movers at the position. That has led to the Steelers being tied to speculation regarding trades for San Francisco’s Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, Seattle’s DK Metcalf, and Denver’s Courtland Sutton.
Nothing has happened to this point, but GM Omar Khan recently stated that conversations are continuing regarding the Steelers and any potential trade, whether that’s at receiver or elsewhere.
But for Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, he doesn’t understand the call for the Steelers to trade for a big-name receiver. In a piece for SI.com, Breer pushed back on the narrative that the Steelers need to trade for a big-name receiver.
“I still don’t get the people who are so into the Pittsburgh Steelers trading for a big-name veteran receiver. It’s never been Pittsburgh’s m.o. to do something like that at that particular position,” Breer writes. “And I can’t imagine trading [Diontae] Johnson is some sort of big needle-mover in this regard, either.
“Pittsburgh’s drafted 19 receivers over the last 18 draft cycles. The highest pick spent in the bunch was on Chase Claypool, who went 49th in 2020. Yet, without spending more than that on the position, they’ve wound up with Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Wallace, Martavis Bryant, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, George Pickens, Johnson and Claypool, all of whom wound up producing to varying degrees for the team.”
That’s a pretty impressive haul considering none of those guys were drafted higher than No. 49 overall.
The Steelers certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to identifying and targeting receivers in the draft. Just look at that list of names again at the position. That’s quite impressive.
Wilson could the next name in that group. But that doesn’t mean the Steelers don’t need to add to the position group. Pickens, Wilson, Jefferson and some combination of Watkins, Austin and Callaway simply isn’t good enough, even in a run-heavy offense that new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith will bring to the table.
The Steelers have to add, whether that’s signing a veteran in free agency like a Marquez Valdez-Scantling, bringing back Allen Robinson II, or trading for a receiver. It might not be their M.O. in the past, but it’s a new day and age with Omar Khan in charge.
Breer doesn’t buy it though.
“On top of that [draft success], the last time the Steelers’ leading receiver wasn’t homegrown was in the year the United States entered World War II—1941 (Don Looney, if you’re scoring at home). And over the years, Pittsburgh has been able to replace guys such as Plaxico Burress, Wallace, Sanders and Brown as they’ve left the organization,” Breer writes. “All of this history, of course, bodes well for the 84th pick in this year’s draft, Roman Wilson.
“And probably not as well for those waiting on the Steelers to take some big swing on a vet.”
Sure, the history is impressive. The Steelers have been able to churn out receivers time and time again, and have hit more often than not, even in a pass-happy style of college football that has infiltrated the NFL.
But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t swing big, especially in a window currently where the Steelers are spending the veteran minimum on a starting quarterback in Russell Wilson and have a young offensive overall with a handful of players still on rookie deals on that side of the football.
It might not happen, because again, that’s not their exact modus operandi, as Breer points out. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be considered and pushed for. That could be the move that puts the Steelers over the top, taking some pressure off a rookie receiver to be Robin to Pickens’ Batman right away.
