The Pittsburgh Steelers intend to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of a quarterback this offseason. But it’s not the only position they are concerned about scouring the NFL landscape for upgrades. The wide receiver spot is a priority again this offseason after they failed to replace WR Diontae Johnson last offseason.
Since the season ended, the Steelers have been linked to Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp and 49ers WR Deebo Samuel. General manager Omar Khan says he and his front office staff will be looking everywhere for upgrades.
“It’s obviously a priority,” said Khan when speaking to the media ahead of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. “I’m not gonna run from that. It’s just a reality. We have some guys that are free agents, and we weren’t good enough at that position. So, we’ll look at everything.”
WR George Pickens is still at the top of the group. While many have questioned his future with the Steelers, Khan said that he and Pickens had a good exit meeting, and both sides want it to work in Pittsburgh. He finished the season with 59 catches for 900 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 15.3 yards per catch.
And WR Calvin Austin III had his best year as a pro in 2024. He had 36 catches for 548 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 15.2 yards per catch. While Austin does not have the prototypical size to be a dominant outside receiver, he proved he can be a useful depth piece at wide receiver.
But beyond that, the Steelers lacked good production at wide receiver in 2024. That’s why the team has been linked to several trade options so far. They’ll also be prowling the free agent market and doing their due diligence in the draft process.
Part of figuring out the wide receiver position is also figuring out the quarterback spot. Khan spoke about that as well on Tuesday, saying that who the Steelers get as quarterback will have an effect on who they pursue at wide receiver.
Khan was also careful not to pin all the offensive issues on the wide receiver spot. The Steelers averaged 22.4 points per game in 2024, 16th in the league. While the wide receiver position needs to be upgraded to improve that number, Khan says it’s not just on that one position group.
“Overall, we just weren’t good enough,” Khan said. “Just, you know, you gotta score more. The reality is you gotta score a lot of points in the league in 2025 football. You gotta score a lot of points, and we didn’t score enough points. There’s a lot of reasons for that, and we just gotta be better.”
That’s why Omar Khan wants to upgrade the wide receiver position, solidify the quarterback spot, and get better offensive line play because all of those things work together to improve the offense.
