Shortly after the tampering period opened last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers made some headlines with a trade. They acquired Michael Pittman Jr. from the Indianapolis Colts on an extremely cheap late-round pick swap in which the Steelers move down just 16 picks.
Pittsburgh then signed Pittman to a three-year, $59 million deal. Now that the WR2 role is secured in Pittsburgh, NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha ranked the Steelers’ move for Pittman as the 10th best of the 2026 offseason.
“There’s no question that the job [quarterback] should be more attractive with Pittman coming to town… The move to land Pittman means Pittsburgh is serious about putting more offensive weapons on the field,” Chadiha wrote in an article posted Tuesday. “Now, [DK] Metcalf can still provide an explosive vertical threat while having another receiver who can take the pressure off him…This much is clear: the Steelers will have a better passing game for whomever ends up under center.”
Pittman certainly should make life easier for Metcalf. The latter is an explosive receiver, but he didn’t get to show it much down the field last year. He and Aaron Rodgers were only able to connect on the deep ball against man-coverage without much help over the top. And only when Rodgers felt comfortable holding the ball for a second longer. Metcalf did have some nice catch and runs, including an 80-yarder in Dublin. But a lot of his work came closer to the line of scrimmage.
That’s an area Michael Pittman Jr. excels in, though. He’s physical enough to beat press coverage, and his routes are savvy enough to get him open quickly. He understands how to find soft spots and has a knack for getting open in the quick game to move the chains. That’s going to force defenses to take some attention away from Metcalf. Which should help him get some more looks deeper down the field.
The Steelers could stand to add some speed in the room as well. With five draft picks in the first 100, they have plenty of ammunition to do so. And the receiver class is deep, so Pittsburgh doesn’t need to spend a first-round pick on the position. If the Steelers can draft someone to take the top off the defense, that’s going to make things even easier on Metcalf and Pittman.
Chadiha is right that the Pittman acquisition makes life easier for any quarterback who takes snaps in 2026. If it’s Rodgers or a different veteran, Pittman’s ability to get open quickly will be very appealing. If it’s Will Howard or a rookie, having two proven veterans in Metcalf and Pittman makes things much easier. Either way, the Steelers’ offense is better with Michael Pittman Jr. in it.
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