The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl receiver DK Metcalf in trade earlier this offseason. Then a few weeks later, they dealt away their No. 1 receiver from the past two seasons George Pickens in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys.
That sort of leaves things were they began for this Steelers receiving corps. It features an uber-athletic jump-ball receiver ... with a lot of question marks surrounding him.
Oh, and we still don't know will be throwing them the ball quite yet.
Pittsburgh has committed - even before the Pickens trade - to making Metcalf the franchise's offensive focal point for years to come. Signing him to four-year contract with an average salary of $33 million says a lot.
It's hard to compare Metcalf directly to Pickens, as the former is far more experienced and accomplished in the NFL and the latter is just now finishing his rookie deal.
However, one source believes the move to prioritize Metcalf over Pickens will be a beneficial one because of one key trait DK has vowed to provide that George never showed.
Reliability.
Although it was off-the-field character concerns that may have foreshadowed the Steelers' move on from Pickens, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes it's the on-field reliability from Metcalf that will make the move worth it.
"Being that quarterback's best friend, being in the right place at the right time. We all know that didn't always happen with George Pickens," Fittipaldo said on the North Shore Drive Podcast.
"Yeah, George can certainly provide some big plays on occasion for you, but it was never really consistent with him. George never really helped himself and did the little things that you needed to succeed.
"DK - which I think is one of the biggest reasons they went out and got him - he's a pro. He's gonna have a professional approach, and he's gonna be that reliable that a quarterback wants," Fittipaldo said.
Strictly by the numbers, Metcalf has sustained greater production than Pickens has ever touched.
DK's lowest amount of receiving touchdowns in a season is five ... yet that's Pickens' career high over his three seasons in the league.
Metcalf also hasn't gotten into any extracurricular trouble from bursting out at teammates and coaches when his touches are down like Pickens has in the past.
This apparent upgrade in professionalism and on-field production should greatly influence the Steelers' offense with as reliable a receiver as they've had in years.
The roster is by no means completed. The rest of the offseason program and any last-minute free agency deals could still impact how things look come Week 1.
But as far as Metcalf goes, there is early optimism that Pittsburgh has found their guy. Now it's up to him to live up to his side of the agreement and prove these expectations are correct.