After the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for DK Metcalf to kick off their offseason, wide receiver finally looked like a strength on the roster. A couple of months later, Pittsburgh shipped George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, making the position suspect once again. With that in mind, insider Mark Kaboly does expect the Steelers to sign a WR in the next couple of weeks.
“I think they will definitely get one,” Kaboly said on Friday on the Kaboly + Mack podcast. “Probably before they go on their hiatus here too, in the next two or three weeks. Maybe the end of minicamp, somewhere around there. I think they learned a lesson last year, where you can’t really count the eggs in the basket.”
If Kaboly is right, it seems like the Steelers would have learned their lesson from last offseason. Then, the position was a major need, and the Steelers found themselves wrapped up in Brandon Aiyuk’s drama. They were unlucky when Aiyuk ultimately decided to stay in San Francisco, which left them without much help at the position going into the season.
When the Steelers finally did add a WR, it was Mike Williams at the trade deadline. Williams did have some contributions, including a huge touchdown catch in the Steelers’ dramatic win against the Washington Commanders. Given their efforts to add to that unit throughout last offseason, though, they would have hoped to find somebody more impactful.
This year, Pittsburgh does have Roman Wilson. The 2024 third-round pick looked good last offseason, but injuries took away any chances he had of making a real impact as a rookie. Heading into his second year, the Steelers will hope he can step into that WR2 role.
That’s a big ask, though. Especially for a player who’s never caught a pass in the NFL. That’s why the team might feel desperate to bring in help at the position, as Kaboly alludes to. Still, he doesn’t expect it to be a splash move.
“It’s probably not gonna be the Keenan Allens or Amari Coopers,” Kaboly said. “They would’ve been here by now.”
Looking at the receivers still available, Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper are clearly the most proven options out there. Kaboly argues that if they were the choice, they would already be in town, and he may be right. Aside from them, some other notable names still available include Gabe Davis, Nelson Agholor, DJ Chark and Tyler Boyd. None of those names move the needle much but certainly could be good depth additions.
Of course, Pittsburgh did recently bring in Robert Woods. There’s a chance he could step into that WR2 role, but that’s a tall ask as well. Currently, the Steelers’ best wide receiver options are Metcalf, Woods, Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Ben Skowronek and Scotty Miller. It’s hard to argue against wanting to improve that unit. And according to Kaboly, that improvement could come soon.
