The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly interested in adding another pass-catcher via trade before the 2025 season. Considering the team traded away George Pickens and has few proven options beyond DK Metcalf and Pat Freiermuth, it’s not too surprising.
It’s also not surprising that some of their targets might be players Arthur Smith coached in the past. At least one is Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith. Another, which hasn’t been confirmed to be on the Steelers' radar specifically, is Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts.
There’s something to be said about the idea that Pittsburgh could be looking to implement a slot tight end to the offense. After all, the slot receiving options aren’t very inspiring unless Roman Wilson rebounds tremendously off a busted rookie season that was eliminated by injuries.
If that were the case, then finding players Smith has worked with in the past is the easiest way to make it work. On the surface, that seems like a solid idea, albeit a bit late in the offseason to pivot to such a move. The problem is that Smith hardly made these pet-project players work in the past.
The Pittsburgh Steelers need answers, not Arthur Smith nostalgia
If the Steelers were to trade for Jonnu Smith or Pitts, it wouldn’t be the first time the Steelers brought in some of their offensive coordinator’s former players. Cordarelle Patterson, Van Jefferson, Scotty Miller, and MyCole Pruitt all played for Smith at some point in their careers and found themselves on the Steelers roster in 2024.
None of them really panned out in Pittsburgh, which again should not be surprising, considering only Patterson of the group was at all successful (i.e., was more than a role player) under Arthur Smith for other teams.
While Pitts was a 1,000-yard receiver in his rookie campaign, he’s had trouble building upon that season over the past three years. While his 2024 troubles were unrelated to Arthur Smith, the former Falcons coach was often criticized for not using the first-round tight end properly in the red zone and often feeding targets to Jonnu Smith unnecessarily instead.
In 2023, both tight ends scored the same number of touchdowns for Atlanta, three, while Pitts, with 53 catches, had just three more receptions than Smith.
Read More:It only took one catch for George Pickens to remind Steelers fans what they're missing
In many ways, Arthur Smith’s first year with the Steelers was successful. The offense looked mostly competent in comparison to the Matt Canada years. But even with Jonnu Smith showing steady progression as a pro and Pitts being one of the freakiest athletes at the position, there’s no reason to feel any excitement about their potential additions in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers should be in the process of breaking bad habits in 2025 instead of retreading them. Pittsburgh needs more receiving help, yes, but Smith’s track record with some of these former players isn’t inspiring enough to take such a move as either a step backward or, at best, a fruitless endeavor.
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