The Pittsburgh Steelers’ expansive 2024 search for a wide receiver evidently included WR DK Metcalf. Trading for him yesterday was reportedly the end of a long pursuit, according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz. And the team’s goal is to keep Metcalf and George Pickens a duo in 2025.
“This goes back to the trade deadline this past season,” Schultz said on FS1’s The Facility Monday morning. “This goes all the way back to then when Omar Khan, the Steelers GM, tried to make it run at DK Metcalf.”
A year ago, Pittsburgh explored every conceivable option for receiver help. It began with a summer-long saga with the San Francisco 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk, ending in anti-climatic fashion with Aiyuk re-upping in Santa Clara. Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, and Christian Kirk all failed to materialize too. It left Pittsburgh to instead trade for Mike Williams, who caught just nine passes in nine games.
The Steelers weren’t going to come up short again. Requesting a trade from the Seahawks, Metcalf officially became available earlier this month and the Steelers closed the deal despite presumed competition for a 27-year-old alpha receiver in the prime of his career. The deal muddies Pickens’ future but Schultz stressed that the team plans to have both on the field this season.
“I have been told as of yesterday that Pittsburgh believes this is the perfect one-two punch,” he said. “They’ll keep Pickens, they’ll pair him with DK and it really gives the Steelers something they have not had. Which is that dominant X receiver down the field.”
Metcalf and Pickens immediately become one of the NFL’s best duos and potent downfield threats. No longer can defenses confidently roll coverage to Pickens and take him away, forcing other receivers to step up. The best counter is for defenses to play two-high shells in an attempt to take away vertical throws for both. But that softens up underneath throws, the middle for TE Pat Freiermuth, and will boost the running game by keeping no more than seven defenders in the box.
Of course, Pickens’ reaction and feelings over the trade have yet to be determined. Pittsburgh just traded for a No. 1-caliber receiver, paid him $30 million per year, and could make a play to take his No. 14 jersey, digits Metcalf has worn in high school, college, and the NFL. If Pittsburgh won’t do a long-term deal with Pickens, something unlikely to occur this summer, he could force his way out. But if the Steelers can make both work, even for one season, they’ll have their best passing attack since the prime years of Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.
