If the Steelers add a starting wide receiver before the season starts, don’t count on a trade making it happen. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette didn’t go so far as to say the Steelers won’t do that, but he did come pretty close. After all, they already invested a second-round pick in a trade, bringing in DK Metcalf.
Asked what an acceptable price would be for the Steelers give up for a wide receiver, Dulac said, “They wouldn’t give up more than a fifth-round pick if they did. But I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you waiting for that to happen”.
The Steelers did give up a fifth-round pick for a wide receiver last year, trading for Mike Williams in-season. I’m sure at this point they wish they didn’t, though, since that didn’t work out for more than one play. And the season quickly fell apart not long after that, Williams not even seeing the field much.
The question is surfacing, of course, because the Steelers made another trade. After the draft, they traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, a move prompted by evident internal disappointment. While Pickens is a very talented player, he lacked the production to make up for the many headaches. And according to Dulac, we hardly know the start of the issues the Steelers saw behind closed doors.
While he doesn’t anticipate the Steelers trading for a wide receiver, that doesn’t mean they will be inactive. Earlier, he questioned GM Omar Khan’s claim that they are comfortable with the wide receiver room. During the same chat referenced above about trading for a wide receiver, he did consider it more likely than not that they sign a veteran wide receiver before mandatory minicamp.
The Steelers don’t kick off mandatory minicamp until June 10, so they have time to make a move. They still have to get through OTAs, though, and they may want to get a look at what they already have, first. Khan expressed enthusiasm about Roman Wilson, for example. Wilson, a third-round pick in 2024, missed nearly all of his rookie season due to injury.
Without Pickens, though, there is a void of proven talent in the Steelers’ wide receiver room. They presumably believe that DK Metcalf is just as good or better than Pickens, but where do the rest of the receivers slot in? Joining Wilson are Calvin Austin III and veteran signing Robert Woods as the top contenders. There are also Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek, plus some rookie undrafted free agents among others.
History tells us the Steelers are willing to bring a shaky group into training camp and figure it out there. In most years, they pull off a trade to strengthen the group, and they trade that in 2024. They were on the phone trying to finalize a trade for WR Brandon Aiyuk, only for Aiyuk to pivot.
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