With George Pickens making it through the 2025 NFL Draft without being traded, the Pittsburgh Steelers figure to have their best wide receiver tandem in many years. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith should also have the best WR tandem of his career since becoming an offensive coordinator in 2019. Today, I wanted to take a look at Smith’s WR production throughout his tenure as an OC or head coach and see how that might apply to DK Metcalf and Pickens for the 2025 season.
Here is a chart of each pairing and their basic receiving stats in order from 2019 to 2024.
| Players | Receptions | Targets | Yards | TDs |
| A.J. Brown* | 52 | 84 | 1051 | 8 |
| Corey Davis | 43 | 69 | 601 | 2 |
| A.J. Brown | 70 | 106 | 1075 | 11 |
| Corey Davis | 65 | 92 | 984 | 5 |
| Russell Gage | 66 | 94 | 770 | 1 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus | 31 | 53 | 406 | 3 |
| Drake London* | 72 | 117 | 866 | 4 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus | 40 | 61 | 533 | 3 |
| Drake London | 69 | 110 | 905 | 2 |
| Mack Hollins | 18 | 30 | 251 | 0 |
| George Pickens | 59 | 103 | 900 | 3 |
| Calvin Austin III | 36 | 58 | 548 | 4 |
*Asterisk denotes a player in his rookie season
It’s pretty evident right off the bat that Smith has never had anywhere close to the level of talent that Metcalf and Pickens will provide. Brown and Davis were a decent pairing for his two years in Tennessee, but Brown was a rookie the first year and Davis is a lesser talent than somebody like Pickens as the WR2.
Context also matters. Kyle Pitts was the de facto WR1 in 2021 and Calvin Ridley didn’t make the list because he only played five games, which explains the unusually low total. Running backs and tight ends have historically played a larger role in the receiving game for Smith’s offense.
Here is a pivot chart showing the total production of WR1 and WR2 by year.
| Year | Receptions | Targets | Yards | TDs |
| 2019 Total | 95 | 153 | 1652 | 10 |
| 2020 Total | 135 | 198 | 2059 | 16 |
| 2021 Total | 97 | 147 | 1176 | 4 |
| 2022 Total | 112 | 178 | 1399 | 7 |
| 2023 Total | 87 | 140 | 1156 | 2 |
| 2024 Total | 95 | 161 | 1448 | 7 |
The most stable number of the four were the targets committed to the top WR tandem each year. Last year’s Steelers were floating right around Smith’s average of 162.8 targets for the top two receivers on his team.
Quarterback performance also plays a big factor. Ryan Tannehill was the best QB of Smith’s career, so it’s no surprise that led to the best WR performances as well. There is a big question mark for the Steelers at quarterback right now, but Aaron Rodgers seems to be the most likely option if he eventually decides to sign as expected.
I don’t think he has a Pro Bowl season in him like the one Tannehill gave Smith in 2019, but he is perfectly capable of still operating an offense at a high level. Rodgers helped Garrett Wilson cross the 1,000-yard mark in 2024 and Davante Adams had 854 in just 11 games with the Jets.
Smith has the pieces in place to orchestrate the best passing offense of his career with the Steelers in 2025. Having two 1,000-yard receivers is not out of the question at all. A.J. Brown and Corey Davis combined for 2,059 yards in 2020. On talent alone, Metcalf and Pickens have a chance to exceed that. Especially if Aaron Rodgers signs.
