The Pittsburgh Steelers were outclassed in the opening round of the 2024-25 NFL playoffs as their arch-nemesis, the Baltimore Ravens, dismantled them 28-14. Their most glaring hole lies at the wide receiver position.
Three-year pro George Pickens has done more than carry the load for the black and gold to begin his NFL career. Now, with a bitter taste in their mouth, it appears the Steelers are shopping one of the NFL’s most eligible receivers.
Sweepstakes for the 2-Time Pro Bowl Receiver Commence
Following the Seattle Seahawks parting ways with long-time wideout Tyler Lockett, his partner in crime, DK Metcalf, requested a trade. Among the teams kicking the tires on the Ole Miss product, Pittsburgh appears to be inquiring.
Source: The Steelers have called the Seahawks about a DK Metcalf trade. Now let's see if it goes anywhere. pic.twitter.com/VtrxuGH5tZ
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) March 7, 2025
Metcalf will surely require quite the haul in terms of trade capital. Luckily for Pittsburgh, they have plenty of cap space and potential assets to sweet talk Seattle general manager John Schneider.
“Everything’s in a very cordial, professional place. Obviously, DK has requested a trade and we are entertaining that,” Schneider said to Seattle Sports’ Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton. “We are talking to a ton of teams, taking offers, seeing what that looks like, and yeah, here we go.”
Ironically, Schneider ends his quote saying “Here we go” — a fitting way to end the sentence considering that is Pittsburgh’s team chant.
How Metcalf Fits in With the WR-Hungry Steelers Offense
Since wideouts JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool did not pan out how general manager Omar Khan thought, the Steelers have steadily been searching for Pickens’ No. 2 guy.
Many believed their 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson would be the one to fill that slot. However, the Michigan alumnus had a puzzling injury rollercoaster and only suited up once against the Las Vegas Raiders, where he hardly saw the field and received zero targets.
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With a plethora of mock drafts slotting Pittsburgh to take a receiver in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, trading for Metcalf could allow them to go elsewhere with their No. 21 pick. Metcalf coming in would not only give Pickens a run at the No. 1 receiver spot but also give the Steelers the ability to fill vacancies at cornerback and defensive tackle through the draft.
PFSN’s Offense+ rankings rated Pittsburgh in the bottom 10 in 2024. At 25th place, the Steelers’ 67.5 (D+) rating was the second lowest among teams that made the postseason.
Sterling Xie detailed how the sparsity of receiving options prompted an already below-average run game to have a large role.
“Pittsburgh leaned on its run game for much of the year, which was a questionable choice considering they ranked 25th in success rate in the regular season,” Xie said. “Their ground game dipped even further vs. the Ravens, recording their second-worst success rate all season (25%). Coupled with the team’s fourth-highest sack rate allowed (11.8%), the Steelers were drawing dead against Baltimore’s powerful offense.”
The question is not whether the Steelers need a receiver — it is who the much-needed receiver will be. If Pittsburgh can get an adequate deal for Metcalf, you could imagine it is of high priority for the six-time Super Bowl champs.