Paul Zeise: Steelers are in the same bad position at wide receiver they were in last year

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 11, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — I listened with intent and learned from Omar Khan this past week when he met with the media and talked about the wide receiver position.

Khan’s contention is the Steelers are in a much better spot than they were last year, even though they only have one legitimate top receiving option on the roster. I am willing to concede there is still time for them to make another move to bolster the wide receiver room, but that isn’t what Khan said was necessarily in the works.

Instead, he said the wide receiver room is really good and there are some excellent options for WR2 behind DK Metcalf.

"We wouldn't have done this if we didn't feel good about our receiver situation,” Khan said of the decision to trade George Pickens to the Cowboys. “It's not close to the same as last year. We've gotten another year with the young guys and watched them develop. Roman [Wilson]'s healthy. There's some excitement there."

Yeah, sure, I believe him. Calvin Austin III is the ultimate training camp hero, Wilson is the ultimate question mark and Robert Woods is the ultimate journeyman. And they didn’t draft a receiver. Other than that, I can see Khan’s point.

This is just more of the same stuff they told us last season, but the fact of the matter is they need a second legitimate receiver behind Metcalf, just like last year they needed a second option behind George Pickens. And just like last year, when we were told we were all overreacting to the idea of not having a second receiver and the granddaddy of delusional takes, “Arthur Smith’s offense doesn’t need a second top-end receiver.” We aren’t stupid and can see with our own eyes this is just pie-in-the-sky stuff.

Pickens was the main receiver last year, and if you want to make the argument Metcalf is a better player and therefore the Steelers are in a better spot at receiver, I will listen to that. But Metcalf will face the same double teams and bracketing and all the other stuff defenses did to Pickens last year to try to stop him because the rest of the group is basically pedestrian.

Could Austin develop into a legitimate second receiving threat? Maybe, but what evidence is there that he is second-receiver material? He took some strides last season, but he is still basically the player who is far better in training camp than he has been in the season. And this is Year 3, so if he doesn’t take a large step toward becoming the No. 2 guy, he is probably destined to an NFL career as a journeyman that fights for the third or fourth spot.

Wilson may be that guy, but he was injured for most of last season and has a long way to go to prove he can even be a productive receiver in the NFL, much less the second receiving option. Woods has had a very respectable career, but he isn’t terribly different than Van Jefferson was last year.

Pickens obviously rubbed enough people the wrong way that the Steelers finally did move on from him. Given his talents and where he was drafted, he was a bit of a disappointment, though Khan wouldn’t use that word to describe Pickens.

“I wouldn't use the word disappointment,” Khan said of Pickens and his Pittsburgh tenure. “We had three years with George. We had some exciting times. It was just time. The fresh start for both sides was the right thing.”

Most of this probably is reliant on what happens with Aaron Rodgers, and the Steelers are probably waiting to find that out. If Rodgers doesn’t come, then it doesn’t matter, as the Steelers will settle in with Mason Rudolph as their starter and that will lead to another nine- or 10-win season, maybe a wild card and a first-round exit.

If Rodgers does come, though, the Steelers are sending a clear message they are trying to win in 2025, and if that is the case, they need to add a receiver who can put them over the top. They cannot go into the season with their current crop of receivers and not give Rodgers the best chance to guide the team to a deep playoff run.

Khan is obviously extremely smart and he knows this, and I am sure the discussions behind the scenes are about adding a receiver. He can’t possibly believe the happy face he put on about the receiving corps Friday when he met with the media and he can’t possibly believe he is setting the offense up to succeed if he doesn’t add at least one more playmaker.

One of the Steelers’ biggest areas of needs last season was receiver, and they addressed it at least temporarily with the addition of Metcalf. But after trading Pickens, they put themselves right back where they started, and as we found out last year, that isn’t a good place to be.

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