The Pittsburgh Steelers traded WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, but it’s not a move that would’ve happened if the Steelers weren’t comfortable with their options behind Pickens. Speaking to reporters about the trade, Steelers GM Omar Khan said the team feels good about where it is at wide receiver.
“We wouldn’t have done this if we didn’t feel good about the receiver situation, about our depth there. I know people make a comparison about last year. It’s not even close to being the same,” Khan said Friday via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo.
In particular, Khan pointed to WR Roman Wilson, a third-round picks in 2024, as a player the team is confident in.
“Roman has been here working the past few weeks and we saw him at the end of last season,” Khan said via Dale Lolley of Steelers.com.
While it’s easy to compare the receiver situation this year to last year, with a clear No. 1 and no clear No. 2 option, the Steelers should be in a better spot. DK Metcalf should be better than Pickens was last year, and despite not playing much as a rookie, the team clearly feels confident Wilson can contribute. Add another year of development for WR Calvin Austin III with Robert Woods representing an upgrade over Van Jefferson, and it’s easy to see why Khan is more confident in the receiver room this year.
Khan did say the Steelers are open to adding another receiver if the opportunity presents itself, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Trading Pickens undoubtedly makes the room worse for 2025, but Khan seems comfortable the Steelers have enough quality and depth at wide receiver to make the trade worth it. Getting future draft capital, with the key piece of the trade being a 2026 third-round pick, made it palatable to move off a receiver the Steelers didn’t have any plans on extending beyond the final year of his contract in 2025.
Omar Khan and the Steelers may be comfortable right now, but there’s at least a chance that will change before the season starts and the team can still explore outside options. But Khan’s comments on Wilson confirm a report by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler earlier this week that the team likes where he is, and it’s not hard to see the receiver room being better in 2025, even without any outside additions, than it was throughout 2024.
