A move that was largely anticipated over the last three weeks finally came to fruition Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Steelers sent a 2025 fifth-round pick to the New York Jets to acquire veteran wide receiver Mike Williams. Though that trade doesn’t move the needle for many, for former NFL wide receiver James Jones, it’s a big deal for the Steelers.
“Yeah, it is very, very simple for me. Mike Tomlin has done it again. Number one, you go get Mike. Mike is probably over the last three, four years, one of the best 50-50 pass catchers we have seen. He is an 80-20 guy,” Jones said Wednesday morning on FSI’s “The Facility” according to video via FS1. “You get Russell Wilson. What is Russell Wilson great at? Russell Wilson is great at moon balls, putting air on these passes so his dudes can go get it. You match him [Williams] with George [Pickens], that is going to be a problem.”
On paper, it certainly looks like a problem for opponents, especially with the way the Steelers like to play with Wilson under center.
Over the last two games, Wilson has hunted the big plays down the field, pushing the ball vertically and giving his guys opportunities to make plays in the passing game. So far, it’s worked at high level as the Steelers’ offense has found another gear in the passing game.
But they needed that one weapon at receiver to help complement Pickens. Williams isn’t the exact perfect complement, but he fits the style the Steelers want to play and utilize in the passing game. His addition gives the Steelers a solid boost in the receiver room, making the Steelers’ passing game all that much more dangerous, especially down the field.
That wasn’t the only trade the Steelers made either, as Pittsburgh added veteran pass rusher Preston Smith in a trade with Green Bay, sending a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Packers to land a guy with 68.5 career sacks.
For Jones, that was a great move for the Steelers, too.
“And then you go get Preston Smith, can get after the passer. You already gotta deal with them bulls out there in [Alex] Highsmith and TJ Watt, so I’m running in there on certain downs, them tackles is whooped already, they tired! So they got better defensively. Adding another playmaker and a pass rusher, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Preston Smith over like we seen Za’Darius [Smith]. Like you showed film yesterday, over the guard, getting to the passer.
“I love what the Pittsburgh Steelers did, and this let me know that they believe that it could be them, too, [in the AFC race].”
There is no denying the Steelers got better with the pair of moves ahead of the trade deadline, shoring up two areas of need that are very important to the success of the team moving forward.
As Jones said, Mike Tomlin — and Omar Khan, to be fair — did it again. The Steelers are contenders.
