A Letter From the Editor: We’re seeing the talent vs. character debate play out for the Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been thought to be a team who prioritizes character over talent when it comes to player acquisition. Doesn’t matter if it is free agency, trade or via the NFL Draft. Character is what fans were sold on as paramount in the age old character vs. talent debate.
This week there has been a lot of discussion about wide receivers drafted by the Steelers in recent memory, and how the team has handled those via trade.
Here is a nice diagram of all those players who have been shipped away for one behavioral reason or another:
The Steelers have long struggled with managing talented wide receivers who come with off-field issues…
When will it finally end?
📸: @fballforeverhq #NFL #Steelers pic.twitter.com/kf7ilGojq0
— The Standard (@TheStandard412) May 7, 2025
When I kept looking at this graphic, I couldn’t help but see it differently. Some might see how the Steelers got the most productive years of Antonio Brown’s sordid career, but should some of these other players been around as long as they were if behavioral issues kept them from sticking around long in Pittsburgh?
Of those listed receivers, only Brown and Diontae Johnson earned a second contract, and Johnson never saw the end of that second deal before he was dealt to the Carolina Panthers last offseason. This week there was a lot of talk about the productivity, or lack thereof, of receivers who were traded away from Pittsburgh.
Here’s what George Pickens now will try to overcome in Dallas: There haven’t been many Steelers wide receivers that have left Pittsburgh and gone on to produce more elsewhere. Most all saw their per-game productivity – by yardage – fall off by at least 20 percent, via @PaulHembo. pic.twitter.com/EbaIPEPeMw
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 8, 2025
Steelers fans have reveled in the above data, seeing how all players the team has traded away, which excludes Emmanuel Sanders who left via free agency, and celebrate their lack of productivity.
As for me, I look back and wonder if all these players should have been given the leniency they were when they were with the Steelers. I don’t wonder why they were drafted based of the fact every team thinks they can fix players, but the surprise was how long they tolerated these players before deciding enough was enough.
When we look at how Omar Khan and the current Steelers front office weighs the character vs. talent debate is certainly being put on display in front of our very eyes. To be more specific, it’s been on display ever since Khan took over as the team’s General Manager (GM).
It was his first year at the helm he shipped Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears for a 2nd Round draft pick. It was last season he wasn’t about to tolerate Diontae Johnson anymore and sent him to the Panthers for Donte Jackson and a late round pick swap. You can now add George Pickens to the list of players Khan saw as needed to move before anything got any worse within the organization. If you want to look outside the wide receiver position, it was Khan who sent Kenny Pickett packing when he was disgruntled last offseason after the signing of Russell Wilson.
Khan and company certainly put an onus on character and a team-first mentality, and don’t seem to be tolerant of players who are deemed to be headaches, and I can’t say I blame them. Talented players are permitted to be given more leeway than others, but at some point there has to be a line drawn in the sand. It seems Khan, and maybe by proxy Tomlin, are more willing to draw that line now compared to previous years.
Will it pay off? We’ll find out as Khan continues to execute drafts with his own players, signs and moves players in the offseason, and how they handle potential issues in the locker room moving forward. But I’d be lying if I didn’t like the way Khan is approaching the roster development since he took over.
In my opinion, it’s been long overdue…
I think there’s a 6’5″ 250lb factor in this equation that’s being overlooked in my opinion. Big Ben is not there anymore! I believe he kept those guys focused with his leadership, AND ability to get them the ball. Also, you’ll never convince me that the drop in production of the WR’s that left the team is not directly related to the fact that Ben was no longer throwing them the ball.
George Pickens will be the first on the list above that is going to a team with a better offense, and QB, and his numbers will be up in 25. Get him on your fantasy team if you have one.
Agreed again, JoeB. Prescott is a winner in this trade. Ben helped Randy Fichtner look good for three years until injuries and poor drafting hurt too much.
I agree that Ben is the big equalizer in all these pre-GP receivers. I also think Pickens will keep himself together — for a very short while — in Dallas. But I also have zero doubt that the wheels WILL eventually fall off for him there as well.
It’s also worth mentioning that at least two of these receivers above didn’t go to QB schleps when they left. JuJu went to play with Patrick Mahomes and Antonio went to play with Tom Brady (with a short non playing detour to Las Vegas for a partial summer). And yet the data still applies.
Ju Ju not on the list, and wasn’t an attitude release. AB was 100% in bat $#!% crazy mode when he left, and the fact that he couldn’t stick with the Raiders further illustrates my Ben point. Brady kept him straight for awhile though.
Brady went all-in for AB, for sure.
Agreed, JuJu is misplaced. Note also Shefter is a “content for content’s sake” arse.
I was responding to your comment regarding the reasons why WRs that have left dropped in production per the tweet/post? Schefter wasn’t talking about malcontents, he was simply saying that WRs that the Steelers have allowed to leave have not done well elsewhere. QUOTE: “There haven’t been many Steelers wide receivers that have left Pittsburgh and gone on to produce more elsewhere.”
Yes, the article is about character, but the tweet/post quoted is about the thing that GP will have to overcome — the fact that when the Steelers have “had enough” with a WR, or simply allow them to walk, their history afterwards is pretty bleak. I already made my post concerning the character vs talent question, but was responding to this idea that all these receivers that left the Steelers and did nothing was because they went from playing with Ben to playing with me as their QB.
Apologies for the confusion or if I wasn’t clear enough Joe.
No worries! That was a bit of a hurried post, and I didn’t see Ju Ju, but I stand by my statement that Ben is a huge factor here.
Counterpoint: DJ.
His production dropped after leaving Pickett and Canada.
Haha! True, but it also dropped when Ben left.
I am a HUGE believer in the character vs talent conundrum. And I lean towards character. Obviously, talent has to be there but that is typically not a problem when players are talented enough to be in the ‘NFL player pool’. I think what Omar seems to be doing is to truly put a measured consideration into character in his selections. Just looking at this year’s drafted class, I believe every player was a team captain at one point in their college career. I think there was one that was a captain on their HS team and not college (Kent, I believe). While captaincy is not the be all, end all barometer of character, it sure is a solid starting point. I’d love the Steelers to be full of high character players that are nasty as heck ON the field! Give me that!
Great stuff here Jeff!
As to The Standard, Santonio Holmes is missing. As to Schefter, performance post-trade is irrelevant to the team culling a player, except perhaps in the case of games between the trading teams. And yes, proof of the Khan/Weidl is TBD in stadium.
And by the way, thanks y’all for coming to the combined TED TALK with Matt, Joe and myself! Good to have you all here. LOLOL
It is what it is, SY. Happy Sunday!
I agree. I love it. I just looked at all the comments and saw the three of us were having a convo! LOL
Happy Sunday to you as well Matt.
Character vs Talent. That’s a tough one. For me…
He (George) has apparently since deleted it.
Of course he did lol
Goodbye, GP. Test out that deep end of the pool.
Cade Klubnik is a high character guy if we’re looking at QBs in 2026. Haven’t looked into the others really, but you hear nothing but good things about his leadership and work ethic. I love the guys they’ve brought in.