The Pittsburgh Steelers have had an eventful 2025 offseason. While they have yet to secure a starting quarterback, they made headlines by trading a second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver DK Metcalf.
Pittsburgh’s offense hasn’t been particularly explosive in recent years, making the Metcalf acquisition surprising. But in an even bigger move, the Steelers signed him to a four-year, $132 million extension. The team hopes the deal jumpstarts its struggling offense, and analyst Michael Holley believes it should benefit fellow wide receiver George Pickens the most.
Acquiring DK Metcalf Could Open Things Up for George Pickens
Metcalf has been one of the NFL’s top receivers since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2019. He posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 and was on pace for another in 2024 before missing two games with an MCL sprain. Last season, he finished with 66 receptions, 992 yards, and five touchdowns.
Through the first seven weeks of 2024, Metcalf ranked third in the NFL with 568 receiving yards and had a 21.3% target share. However, after returning from injury, he ranked 33rd in receiving yards (424) with a reduced 17.9% target share. Still, he remains a dynamic playmaker who should energize Pittsburgh’s offense—regardless of who is under center.
On a recent edition of “PFT Live,” Holley discussed Metcalf’s potential impact on Pickens with host Mike Florio.
“It would seem that the presence of Metcalf could make Pickens’ life easier. He’s a great deep threat himself, and if you focused a lot on DK Metcalf, it’ll isolate Pickens in some 1-on-1 situations,” Holley said. “But, I’m looking at the other thing. Are the Pittsburgh Steelers prepared to do what their personnel says they should be prepared to do?”
“If you’ve got DK Metcalf, you’ve got George Pickens. I don’t know who they come away with in the draft. Do they go receiver, do they go running back, do they go more offensive weaponry? Are they prepared to kind of open it up a little bit? It looks like their roster is starting to say, ‘Sure, why not?’ But I just can’t imagine the Steelers with an explosive offense under Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator.”
Pickens hasn’t been overly productive in his three years with the Steelers, but it’s not because he lacks ability. His best year came in 2023 when he caught 63 passes for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. He led the league in yards per reception that season at 18.1, cementing himself as a dangerous downfield weapon.
However, his production dipped in 2024, finishing with just 59 receptions, 900 yards, and three touchdowns in 14 games. Quarterback instability played a role, with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson splitting time before both moved on this offseason. With two vocal playmakers at wide receiver, Pittsburgh must find a competent quarterback to keep its offense on track.
“The move they made to pay DK Metcalf, the trade isn’t the thing that’s stunning, the move they made to pay him is the single-most out of-character and surprising move the Steelers in the 52 years that I’ve been paying attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Florio responded.
Pittsburgh needs to find a quarterback because the team made a huge, uncharacteristic investment in its offense this offseason. Several factors still need to be ironed out, but there’s a chance the Steelers’ offense will be an exciting product on the field in 2025. It certainly will be off the field.