The Pittsburgh Steelers made not one, but two moves Tuesday to bolster a couple important positions on their roster. They traded for WR Mike Williams and OLB Preston Smith. Most don’t see those as big splash moves for the Steelers, but former OL Jeff Saturday offered some very high grades for the acquisitions.
“This is an A for me. How about Mike Williams coming over from the Jets? I like this fit — X receiver for Russell Wilson. He loves to throw the moon ball, 50-50 balls,” Saturday said Wednesday via ESPN’s Get Up. “You got a big, wide-range catcher [in] Mike Williams. I like this fit. I’m not saying he’s the same player as DK Metcalf but think about Russell Wilson when he has those types of receivers.
“Let’s talk about Preston Smith. This will go way undervalued, but the Steelers do a fantastic job [with] this type of guy. He can be a five technique, a three technique. He can rush. He has great hands. He’s a mature veteran. The Steelers make the best use of these kinds of guys. A+ [grade], in my opinion, for what the Steelers did.”
That is certainly an optimistic view on things. I think both moves help the roster and protect against injury, but Smith in particular should be mostly a rotational player. If the Steelers have him out on the edge, he will be competing with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig for snaps. He might be able to find an early-down niche to help stop the run, but he isn’t going to be a guy playing over 50 percent of the defensive snaps.
As for Williams, there is potential for him to be a large addition. The only problem is, he hasn’t been able to accomplish much this season. Some of that has to do with being in a crowded WR room for a New York Jets offense that wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders, but it also has to do with his age and recent injuries. He just turned 30 years old and came off an ACL tear in 2023. This is around the time receivers start to lose their effectiveness, especially ones who were known for their physical traits.
That being said, he can still catch 50-50 balls, and he has some versatility to also work out of the slot and stretch the deep middle of the field. If he can accomplish either of those two things with relative frequency, then it will pay large dividends for the offense.
Domonique Foxworth followed up Saturday’s grade with a pretty good point.
“Sometimes it’s just smart to go all in on what you’re good at,” Foxworth said. “You’re not gonna win a championship by being average everywhere. So the teams that win championships are the teams that can overpower you in one way or the other, and it’s clear that [if] the Steelers gonna win a championship, it’s gonna be with 50-50 balls down the sideline and that defense dominating.”
The A+ grade might be a little rich, but I do think the Steelers improved their roster and protected themselves against injury. They are positioned to compete in the playoffs, and who knows what could happen from there.
