The Steelers made the aggressive move of acquiring D.K. Metcalf this offseason. Parting ways with a second-round pick, it seemed as though the team was set to have two dominant top options with both he and George Pickens on the roster.
That dream was short-lived. Pickens was traded to the Cowboys shortly after the draft finished up. Rumors had been swirling for months that the Steelers were fed up with Pickens, and for a future third-round pick, they opted to send him packing to the NFC.
This wasn’t a bad move itself. Getting rid of a cancer for healthy compensation is a smart move. That said, it leaves the Steelers with the same issue that they had last year.
If Metcalf were to miss time, there isn’t a receiver who can pick up the slack.
We saw this last year when Pickens missed extensive time, and the passing came imploded because of it. Like the trade of Diontae Johnson a year earlier, getting rid of a problem isn’t a bad move, but creating a hole on the roster also isn’t a smart decision.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a massive issue behind DK Metcalf
When Pickens was lost for a handful of games last year, it completely set the offense back. While Calvin Austin picked up some of the slack, he isn’t a viable starter. Treating him as such is a mistake.
While Metcalf will command plenty of attention in the passing game, his talent is enough to supersede that, just like Pickens did last year. If injured, the Steelers find themselves in a near-identical spot as last year.
Sure, Roman Wilson is expected to help out this season, but despite a good training camp, Pittsburgh doesn’t appear to have that much faith in the former third-round draft pick.
The hope would be that the revamped tight end room steps up as a hybrid second receiver. Unfortunately, that has been the hope for the past few seasons, and it hasn’t really materialized.
Even if a veteran is brought in at this point, they are going to have limited options with similar issues as the current rostered names. They will do little to help if Metcalf is injured for a stretch of time.
Ideally, this becomes a non-factor and Metcalf stays healthy for all 17 games in 2025. If he doesn’t, however, this offense could implode like it did last year without Pickens. All of that investment and hope is riding on Metcalf avoiding the injury bug.