If you ask 10 people what the weakest spot on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster is, you’ll likely hear a lot of them say WR2. And it’s understandable. WR Roman Wilson missed all but five snaps of his rookie season. WR Calvin Austin III missed all of preseason after suffering an injury during the team’s Friday Night Lights practice. So, who will step up at receiver beyond Steelers No. 1 WR DK Metcalf?
However, Check The Mic’s Steve Palazzolo is concerned about the Steelers’ pass-catching group as a whole. Thursday on Check The Mic, he and co-host Sam Monson broke down the critical flaws of every NFL team. And while Palazzolo started with talking about the issues at WR2, he expanded that scope to all of QB Aaron Rodgers’ receiving weapons.
And in his mind, it starts actually with Metcalf.
“Honestly, wide receiver one, DK’s never really been a WR1, go-to guy,” Palazzolo said. “So, I would say, either way, I look at receiving groups, the receiving corps, and I want to see four dudes that can make an impact on every team, including tight ends. I don’t think the Steelers have that, so pass catchers overall. They have some depth at tight end, which is great, some versatility there. But wide receiver group doesn’t have enough dudes beyond DK Metcalf.”
At first glance, you might disagree heavily with Palazzolo on Metcalf. Throughout his first six NFL seasons, Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks never targeted Metcalf fewer than 100 times in a season. However, Metcalf only led the Seahawks in targets twice over those six seasons. WR Tyler Lockett led the Seahawks in 2019, 2020, and 2023, while WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the team in 2024.
While Metcalf will be the undisputed WR1 in Pittsburgh, he doesn’t have a running partner like he did in Seattle for all six seasons. How will he handle the extra attention? I think that’s Palazzolo’s point here. He’s concerned about how Metcalf will respond to not having a proven WR2.
Because there really isn’t anyone in the wide receiver room who deserves extra attention from defenses. Perhaps that can change during the season, but no one’s proven it. Austin is the closest after a 2024 season where he averaged 15.2 yards on 36 receptions and caught four touchdown passes. But should we be concerned about the injury history at this point? And Wilson is still an unknown at this point. Yet insider Mark Kaboly says that everything he’s heard from the Steelers is that they aren’t going to add another wide receiver.
But one area where the Steelers do have some proven pass-catching weapons is in the tight end room. And while Palazzolo says he likes the depth there, it isn’t like the team only has depth. After all, TE Jonnu Smith finished second in targets on the Miami Dolphins last year and had 800 yards and eight touchdowns. Plus, Pat Freiermuth has proven to be quite the reliable pass catcher with the Steelers.
But it’s still easy to understand the concern Palazzolo has. The Steelers have a pretty big hole at WR2 in terms of proven talent. They don’t seem to want to add to it, and that’s going to cause ripples across the offense. If they don’t add a piece before the season starts, they need Calvin Austin or Roman Wilson to step up. The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo believes Wilson is the key to the wide receiver room this year. If he can prove that he was worthy of a third-round pick at minimum, that’s going to go a long way toward helping the Steelers overcome this critical flaw.
