The Pittsburgh Steelers have been searching for a 'WR2' for years. Shooting for a 'WR1b' might be a bit more aggressive, but aggressive is just what Omar Khan has been on the phones in recent months. His trade with Miami to bring in Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith is proof enough of that.
But Steelers fans have watched idly as one disgruntled receiver after another demands attention in the trade rumor mill, only to sign an extension with the team he’s so disgruntled with. Last year, about this time, it was Brandon Aiyuk. This time around, it’s Terry McLaurin.
McLaurin signed a three-year, $96 million contract extension Monday that will keep him in Washington as the Commanders’ WR1, dashing what little hopes remained for the Steelers to execute another blockbuster trade ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are left staring at an unsettled WR depth chart once again
A trade for McLaurin was certainly a pipe dream, but it’s not as though the Steelers don’t have the ammunition and the willpower to pull it off. Khan has hoarded 12 picks in next year’s draft, and while the expectation is to use those to pursue a quarterback, the win-now nature of the roster certainly doesn’t rule out a necessary move.
Thankfully, the concerns at wide receiver are somewhat lessened. Calvin Austin III had a solid training camp as the first man up until an oblique injury held him out of the preseason games. Roman Wilson stepped up in that space and finished camp with a solid argument to be the WR2.
But just as having two quarterbacks means you have none, the Steelers still don’t have a definitive answer after DK Metcalf on the wide receiver depth chart. Wilson and Austin could trade snaps too often to make it clear who is officially holding the role.
Considering the Steelers will likely spend most of the season in 12 personnel, it’s entirely likely Steelers fans come away from the 2025 season disappointed that neither player has truly taken the reins at the position.
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Still, even as a tight end, it seems most likely that Jonnu Smith will play in the slot and eat up plenty of targets. It’s entirely possible that he’ll have the second-most targets among the pass-catchers, which in turn makes him the de facto WR2. So long as the 30-year-old continues to prove to be a dynamic playmaker and not just another Arthur Smith-favorite getting more touches than he’s worth, he should prove satisfactory in the role.
Whether or not a satisfactory season from Smith, Wilson, or Austin is enough to quell the hunger for a true WR2 is something we’ll have a better idea of by mid-season. Thankfully, there’s a trade deadline for a reason if Pittsburgh is still in need of a boost at the position. Odds are, there’ll be a disgruntled receiver somewhere in the NFL by then who would be happy to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers.