The Pittsburgh Steelers have clearly been looking to upgrade their wide receiver room. While the language used by Omar Khan, Mike Tomlin and various players around the locker room has been supportive of the current group, the team’s long-term pursuit of WR Brandon Aiyuk suggests that Pittsburgh would like to add. According to Jordan Schultz on X, multiple teams have reached out to the Houston Texans to inquire about a trade for WR John Metchie III.
There is nothing specifically linking the Steelers as of yet, but it seems very possible that they would be interested. The Aiyuk situation has been at a standstill for weeks now, and it continues to look more likely that he returns to the 49ers on a long-term deal.
Metchie was a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Texans have a loaded receiver room after trading for Stefon Diggs this offseason. They already had 2023 rookie standout Tank Dell on the roster as well as Nico Collins, who had 1,297 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns last year. Similar to the 49ers, they have a lot of talent at wide receiver which could make a trade more likely to happen.
Schultz noted that it is unclear if the Texans are open to moving Metchie. They aren’t in the exact same situation as the 49ers, who are right on the cusp of winning a Super Bowl, but they are a rapidly ascending team with a young star quarterback in C.J. Stroud.
Though he was drafted in 2022, last year was essentially Metchie’s rookie season because he sat out 2022 with acute promyelocytic leukemia. He appeared in 16 games last season, but received zero starts. He caught 16 of his 30 targets for 158 yards and no touchdowns.
He was targeted 14 times in the 2024 preseason and caught 10 of those passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
This obviously wouldn’t be as big of a move as trading for Aiyuk. Metchie is still unproven in the NFL, but he has second-round pedigree and some intriguing traits that suggest he could develop into an impact receiver.
He measured in during the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine at 5112, 187 pounds. The former Alabama product didn’t workout at the combine or his pro day due to a torn ACL suffered in the SEC Championship Game at the end of the 2021 season. He posted 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and 8 touchdowns in his final season at Alabama prior to injury.
He would add talent to the Steelers’ receiver room if he ends up being traded, and the Steelers could be among the interested teams, but it would be more of a projection than a sure thing.
