The Pittsburgh Steelers made two moves ahead of the NFL trade deadline, acquiring WR Mike Williams and EDGE Preston Smith, but even without those moves, FS1’s Craig Carton thinks the Steelers are contenders. On Breakfast Ball this morning, he was asked if he was taking the Steelers seriously as a contender, and he said that he is because of the upgrade Russell Wilson has provided at quarterback.
“Not because of these deals. I took ’em seriously because they’re getting better quarterback play now. I know it’s only two games, so it’s a small sample size, but they’ve been really good. We know they’re well-coached. We know that all of a sudden the run game with Najee [Harris] has started to pick up again. But yeah, you have to take them seriously. They needed another wide receiver.”
Mark Schlereth, who was Wilson’s biggest critic this offseason but has since admitted he’s wrong, said he’s “all-in” on this version of Russell Wilson after his performance the last two games.
Pittsburgh got the receiver it needed with Williams, who projects to be a vertical threat and jump-ball option and someone who can win downfield with Wilson’s deep-passing ability. He’s a nice complement to George Pickens on the outside, and Carton said he’s not putting too much stock into Williams’ performance with the Jets. Given that he had a slow ramp-up to the season with his recovery from a torn ACL and never developed chemistry with QB Aaron Rodgers, Williams never got much of a chance in New York. He quickly fell out of favor, especially after the team traded for WR Davante Adams.
Williams will get more of an opportunity in Pittsburgh to thrive with Wilson under center, and overall, the Steelers are a team that should be able to hang with anyone in the AFC. Mike Garafolo thinks Pittsburgh’s coaching staff makes the Steelers the biggest threat to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC, and the staff coupled with the talent this team has makes them a threat going forward. Wilson has elevated the entire offense in his two games under center, and his deep ball has opened up Pittsburgh’s vertical passing game, which could be key down the stretch.
Talent-wise, it’s one of the better rosters the Steelers have assembled in recent years, and their coaching has been as good as it’s ever been, from Mike Tomlin to Arthur Smith to Teryl Austin to Danny Smith. With the trade-deadline additions, Pittsburgh only got deeper, and there’s no question at this point it is a team that needs to be taken seriously. With a matchup against the 7-2 Washington Commanders on deck Sunday, it’ll be a good test to see if the Steelers can continue to be one of the top teams in the league and knock off one of the best, if not the best, opponents they’ve faced so far.
