Do the Steelers have enough firepower in the wide receiver room after failing to trade for Brandon Aiyuk?
As we discussed this past week, the Steelers finally lost the Brandon AIyuk sweepstakes, who re-signed with the 49ers. While it sounds as though they always expected that as the likely outcome, the fact remains they lost out on the standout wide receiver. The question now is, do they have enough to move forward with, or must they take further steps?
After all, Brandon Aiyuk isn’t the only wide receiver who had been available to sign or trade for. Now, they are not about to land Courtland Sutton or DK Metcalf, but surely there is somebody who can help. The Steelers’ wide receiver depth chart would look a couple degrees better with a healthy and established Roman Wilson, though.
George Pickens stands atop the Steelers’ depth chart, of course, and absent Aiyuk, he has no challengers. Van Jefferson figures to assume the other starting role, and to his credit, he looked professional this offseason. It’s after that stage that things suddenly become murky.
The remaining wide receivers on the Steelers’ 53-man roster as of this writing are Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III, and Scotty Miller. Wilson is their rookie third-round pick who missed nearly all of training camp due to an ankle injury. We don’t even know if he will be healthy in time for the opener, many anticipating he will be inactive.
If we take Wilson out of the equation for now, the Steelers are left with just Miller and Austin. Miller is a journeyman deep threat here on a Veteran Salary Benefit deal. Austin is in his third season as a former fourth-round pick, with basically one play on his resume. Wilson will work his way in eventually, but we are projecting his future success.
The Steelers made a sincere effort to make a big splash by attempting to trade for Brandon Aiyuk. How much did that say about their feelings for Aiyuk specifically versus their feelings about the position? The coaches and players naturally say that they are confident in the guys they have. But are they saying that behind closed doors as well, or is there a little panic?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a first-round playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they exit early or miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
