If the Pittsburgh Steelers thought they had enough at wide receiver, Roman Wilson’s injury threw a wrench into their plans. While the rookie should only miss some weeks, his lost time will make it difficult for him to contribute early. Maybe they don’t need Brandon Aiyuk, but the Steelers need a meaningful addition to the room, and soon.
After all, we are already kicking the door down on August, believe it or not. The Steelers open up their regular season on September 9 against Arthur Smith’s former team, the Atlanta Falcons. Do you think he wants his previous employer to embarrass his new offense because they have no receivers?
George Pickens has immense talent, but he is not a one-man show. He will not hold up the Steelers’ entire passing game by himself, even with an increased role from the running backs and tight ends. Roman Wilson looked to be emerging as a leading candidate to start, but that process is on hold now.
Lest we forget, the Steelers have a brutal second half of the season, dominated by divisional play. They can’t afford to start the year off slowly because they don’t have enough firepower in the passing game. If they lose winnable games in September and October, they will be crushed in the standings in November and December.
The Steelers already needed an influx of talent at wide receiver even before Roman Wilson’s injury. With him effectively sidelined and unlikely to be a major contributor from the outset, however, that only increases the urgency. No, they don’t need Courtland Sutton, D.K. Metcalf, or Tyreek Hill, names we’ve heard before mostly silly. But they need somebody who is better than what they already have.
Even those who are less skeptical admit that Arthur Smith will have to work magic to make this work. The Steelers will have to rely heavily on scheme over skill to use guys like Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, and Scotty Miller effectively.
Steelers beat writers have consistently maintained until only recently that a trade was highly likely. As time passes without a move, they have lost their steam, but still remind that Omar Khan can make moves. The national media seems more insistent that they are looking to add at wide receiver.
As longtime readers surely know, the Steelers almost always make a trade during training camp. It’s not always a big move, granted, but they have acquired some starters like Vance McDonald and Joe Schobert. Okay, they don’t always work out, but they don’t sit on their hands.
I’m not about to rattle off a list of names of random wide receivers the Steelers should ring teams about. I just know that we are getting to the point of training camp where it’s time to make a move. At least if they plan to make one, they need to do so soon. And Roman Wilson missing at least a couple weeks should only fuel that urgency.
