The Athletic: ‘Big Splash Trade At Receiver’ What Steelers Should Worry About Most Ahead Of Training Camp

Unless you’ve been living under a rock all offseason since free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft, the WR2 spot for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been talked about ad nauseam as an area that needs upgraded in a major way, not only to take some pressure and attention off third-year receiver George Pickens, but to provide new quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields another weapon to work with in 2024.

So far, the Steelers have appeared rather content with what is on the roster, leaning into the likes of Van Jefferson, Scotty Miller, Calvin Austin III, Quez Watkins, and rookie Roman Wilson as potential answers at WR2.

That hasn’t sat well with many in the media and in the fan base as the calls for an upgrade at WR2, and the concerns regarding the situation currently continue to get louder and louder.

The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly is one of those in the media who is very concerned with the WR2 spot for the Steelers. In a piece for The Athletic Monday, Kaboly highlighted a “big splash trade at receiver” as the biggest concern ahead of training camp for the Black and Gold.

“The Steelers traded Diontae Johnson in the offseason, then created cap space before the draft with the assumption they would take a swing at a big-time receiver in either free agency or the trade market to play alongside George Pickens. Nothing ever materialized and the Steelers head into training camp with a sizable question mark at the WR2 position” Kaboly writes regarding the biggest concern for the Steelers ahead of training camp. “They will let the group of Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller and Marquez Callaway battle it out in camp, but whoever comes away with the victory will do little to prevent teams from bracketing Pickens.

“That’s where a trade for one of the 49ers’ receivers — Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel — might materialize because it is unlikely one of the aforementioned receivers suddenly turns into a legitimate second threat for Russell Wilson.”

The trade of Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in a swap for veteran cornerback Donte Jackson was surprising back in mid-March, and it remains rather surprising. The Steelers traded their best route runner, separator and true X receiver. Though they plugged a hole at cornerback with the Jackson addition, they never addressed receiver.

Of course, there are experienced names to work with at receiver behind Pickens, with Jefferson, Miller and Watkins all having played quite a few games and made quite a few plays in the NFL. But they profile as more WR3 or WR4 options at this points in their careers, not WR2 on a team with championship aspirations.

Austin has turned some heads throughout the offseason and is starting to generate some buzz leading up to training camp. But again, he’s more of a WR3 option who can take the top off defenses, rather than a WR2 asked to run a full route tree and be a consistent playmaker to draw attention away from Pickens.

With the Brandon Aiyuk saga dragging on and seemingly reaching a new level in San Francisco as he wants a new contract, speculation continues to ramp up that the Steelers could be the team that pulls the trigger on a move for the standout receiver, landing him via trade and then potentially handing him a new contract.

Though it still seems unlikely, GM Omar Khan has done things differently since he’s taken over as the decision maker for the Steelers. Maybe he is aggressive and takes advantage of the situation in San Francisco. It seems more likely though that the Steelers do nothing at the position until final camp cuts across the NFL, especially after Khan’s comments a few weeks ago stating his thoughts on the wide receivers, saying how pleased he was with the development and excited by the experience in the room. 

It seems like less of a concern for Khan and the Steelers’ coaching staff than it does for media members and fans. We’ll see what shakes out in the weeks ahead leading up to training camp at the wide receiver position.