Unpopular Opinion: The Steelers don’t need to add another wide receiver
When the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the dreaded long offseason, there are plenty of ideas to debate. As part of the triumphant trio on the Steelers Preview podcast, I’ve been known to often give a “Dave answer“ to various things as I often like to argue both sides of an issue. With this in mind, a new weekly segment has been born… Unpopular opinion.
There are plenty of arguments both for and against the Pittsburgh Steelers that might not go along with the majority of fans. Oftentimes I believe in these arguments, while other times I simply like to pose a counter argument for ones that are taking it too much to the extreme. For this reason, I’m going to offer some points about the Pittsburgh Steelers that go against the general fan narrative, or at least how I have heard things.
Next up is answering a similar question at wide receiver from last year…
The Steelers don’t need to add another wide receiver in 2025
This topic came to me this week as a suggestion from Jeff Hartman. When he first said it, I was actually quite surprised. I thought it was obvious that the Steelers would be in much better shape if they added another wide receiver. What is Jeff pointed out, even though adding another quality player at any position is going to be a good thing, if the Steelers don’t do it at wide receiver they will still be fine.
But will they?
I decided to do what I normally do and crunch some numbers. First, I compared the numbers of DK Metcalf to George Pickens from 2024. The numbers were very close as Metcalf appeared in one more game. Metcalf had seven more receptions for 92 additional yards and two additional touchdowns compared to Pickens. I also looked at Seattle’s receiving yards to realize that Metcalf was not the top receiver on the Seahawks, instead that belong to Jaxson Smith-Njigba. So if Metcalf is the first option for the Steelers, could he have better numbers? On the flip-side, if Metcalf doesn’t have someone else drawing some attention, will he be less productive?
Whether or not DK Metcalf is an upgrade over George Pickens is up for every fan to decide. Personally, I believe he is because he has been able to do it in this league for more seasons. But even if it’s a wash between the two players, is the rest of the supporting cast good enough?
In 2024, the next most receiving yards of the Steelers went to three players in a row that are still on the team. Pat Freiermuth had 653 yards on 65 receptions, Calvin Austin had 548 receiving yards on 36 receptions, and Jaylen Warren had 310 receiving yards on 38 receptions. So if Pickens for Metcalf is a one-for-one trade, the Steelers still have their top four pass catchers in terms of yardage coming back from last season.
The Steelers did lose Najee Harris and his 283 receiving yards on 37 receptions, but I expect some of those numbers to increase Jaylen Warren‘s production as well as having some left for rookie Kaleb Johnson. Van Jefferson was believed to potentially be the second option at wide receiver but he only had 270 receiving yards last season. Honestly, that wasn’t much more than what Robert Woods had in Houston as he had 203 receiving yards.
In all honesty, whether or not the Steelers will be better off at wide receiver is ultimately going to come down to Roman Wilson. Having no targets in his rookie season as he missed time for injury, if Wilson can be a legitimate threat in the Steelers passing attack it should help them to be more productive than 2024.
I know Roman Wilson is a big question mark for Steelers fans. Honestly, he should be. Banking on Wilson to be a significant part of the Steelers passing offense could be a mistake, but thinking he won’t be involved could be just as damaging. Perhaps having the open opportunity in training camp for Wilson to step in so he can be a bigger part of the offense is what is needed. If Wilson is unable to do it, perhaps that would be the time for the Steelers to go looking on the trade markets or see what other players could be available ahead of the 2025 regular season.
Of course, if the Steelers add another significant piece at wide receiver before training camp I am all for it. I think anything that will take the pressure off of DK Metcalf is going to give him a better chance of success in Pittsburgh. But if the Steelers aren’t able to make a move ahead of training camp, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.
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I’m not ready to give up on Wilson at all. He was a third round pick, after all, and that’s often where teams find great value — think about how antsy most fans get about trading away third round picks for actual players to get a sense of how valuable they can be.
I’ll admit that the fact that he couldn’t break into a pretty depleted lineup after his return from injury last season gives me pause, and the Steelers’ track record with evaluating receivers has … not been great lately, but those two facts don’t mean that Wilson can’t be a big contributor this year. He had great college numbers, was ranked in or near the top 10 at his position in the draft class, and played for a winning program.
I was excited by the pick, and had high hopes that he could make an impact last year, a hope that didn’t materialize due to injury, so I am going to transfer that hope (tempered a bit by facts in prior paragraph) to this season. I think he could be a big contributor, but I would still like to see Pitt bring in someone else, as expecting a (sorta) rookie 3rd rounder to come in and be your WR2 in the NFL might be a bit of a stretch.
Grinch speaks truth.
He had basically zero camp time. Just five reps I think?
The injury timing was that bad. So … his not breaking into the lineup later on doesn’t bother me. If he’d managed it I’d would been shocked actually. Cracking the lineup with just five camp reps would’ve been a miracle.
I agree on all points here 4th!
Yes.
You’re right. The only thing that concerns me, though, is some of the ancillary information that was out there about Roman Wilson. There were a few reports of him not absorbing the offense well enough to play even after he was healthy. Who knows if that stuff’s true or not, though.
Yeah, rumors are unreliable at best. I remember that noise of what you write above, too. That RW should have CAIII’s work ethic.
Mattcat thinks Metcalf and GP are primarily deep threats based on their prior usage–yes, either of those fellow could house-call a slant given the chance. Nice as that is, chain-moving is a great complement, e.g. a JSN-type. Neat to learn if Roman could be that C-Mer, and is must to get Roman involved, yes. It would be comforting for me if such a chain-mover were acquired, Dufresne be darned. Not easy to do and certainly expensive as the league knows Pgh is in a pickle at WR2. And while I prefer Wicks to Doubs as a potential answer, neither is a bona fide, guaranteed fit. Williamson makes the reqs harder, says WR2 should be able to replace an injured Metcalf’s production. Wow, a new WR2 would be so nice, I’ve no clue who like any team would trade away.
Ask Jeff what “fine” is, and Chemisty is the Central Science. Last time, mattcat promises.
Geez, they make Grammarly for Tizen?
I have no clue what to expect from Wilson. I feel like I wasn’t as down on him as most, but the fanbase has made me question my thoughts on him. Hoping he’s a servile receiver
Yes, shake man coverage, find holes in zone coverage, communicate pre-snap, complete catches, and block during runs. Mindfulness during scrimmage is also desirable. Hines Ward, in nutshell. Works for me.
I hear your points- but the dynamic of needing two high impact receivers in order to be a successful team isn’t even really recent anymore. Looking back at the teams that made deep runs in the playoffs the last ten years, you see they almost all had more of a 1/1B arrangement at WR. The only exception is KC- admittedly a pretty big exception- but Mahommes and a crazy, sneaky excellent defensive scheme and talent overcame that. The Steelers won’t have an all time elite qb this year and while the defense promises to be competitive as always- their scheme is never going to surprise anyone and their ability to stop the run remains a big question mark until it isn’t anymore.
Tomlin has never been an offensive mind at all and my concern is Smith still thinks its 2020 and that he can win with just AJ Brown getting long balls. But the Steelers don’t have Henry running the ball, either.
Bottom line, a strong WR2 is maybe the biggest “bet hedge” a team can make in today’s game. Maybe your running game isn’t so good- you can open it up with long balls because you’re going to have an open man somewhere most of the time. Your OL is not holding up well enough to throw deep? Quick passes to not one by two good route runners underneath keeps chains moving.
And, maybe the biggest and most practical of all- WR1 injured? A really capable WR2 gives you a chance in both execution and scheme. We saw what the offense looked like without Pickens last year. It’s what began the downward slide for the team. In the nfl, you need a good backup QB, no doubt. I think a really good WR2 is just only slightly less necessary anymore. Without one, a team is too easily exposed in several ways.
If I were Khan- I’d learn from last year and go for broke on a long term #2. It will benefit whoever is the qb this year and into the future.
Khan only must find the team with which to deal, and pay the cost. Sounds good to me. Pretty sure Dave would support such an aquisition, and so would I.
a true Pittsburgh Steelers fan, since the 70’s if Steelers Omar Khan is looking and needing more wide receivers Omar Khan shuold checkout the talent in the U.F.L. and H.B.C.U. and Roman Wilson shuold be ready this season
Hey, Deon Cain’s doing well with Birmingham and Tyler Vaughns made that nice one-handed grab.
I am a little confused by this article. It seems to be saying that the Steelers are “status quo” at receiver from last year so they don’t need to add another. However, I think that most think that the Steelers were woefully short at receiver last year so being status quo with it means that they still are woefully short a receiver.
Roman Wilson or no Roman Wilson, the Steelers probably can still use a proven #2 WR. If Wilson develops then great, there’s your gravy right there.
Dave wrote that exploring Roman Wilson is key to possibly improving Pgh’s air attack, though RW’s abiiity to do such isn’t guaranteed. He further wrote that if RW doesn’t show out, another WR should be acquired. Dave continues on to write that he’d be okay with an outside WR being acquired prior to training camp (ie. RW doesn’t show out), and if an outside WR is not acquired until after training camp starts, Dave won’t lose sleep.
Executive Summary: Give Wilson a shot, first. If Wilson can’t cut it, bring somone else in.
And it is unimportant to Dave when a new guy is brought in relative to the onset of training camp.
Oh I know and I don’t disagree. I am saying that RW was here last year too, albeit hurt. Whether it’s RW or someone else, there will likely be some injuries to WRs this year and there simply isn’t enough depth with WR to absorb it. I think the article assumes good health for the WRs all year which probably isn’t reasonable.
My apology, I misunderstood you earlier. Agreed again. While difficult, having another genuine WR2 would be ideal. To have that new guy be able to replace Metcalf’s production in case of injury, well a guy like that will COST in a trade, and won’t be from the current FA pool. OL is in similar shape to WR regarding proven backups.