The Pittsburgh Steelers surprisingly exited the 2025 NFL Draft without addressing the wide receiver position. Though it wasn't a strong draft class for receivers, most expected the front office would dip their toes in the wide receiver pool, and even taking one in the first round wasn't completely out of the question.
Pittsburgh looked elsewhere with their seven choices, and as a result, they quickly signed a veteran receiver following the NFL Draft.
But don't get your hopes up. This feels like the Van Jefferson signing all over again.
To ensure they have all their bases covered, the Steelers inked Robert Woods to a one-year, $2 million contract on Monday. Woods is a savvy veteran who brings a leadership presence to the locker room. However, this signing does anything but move the needle for Pittsburgh's offense.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could have done without the Robert Woods signing
Robert Woods was a good player for the LA Rams in the middle of his NFL career. Over a three-year stretch from 2018 to 2020, Woods averaged over 1,000 receiving yards while being a focal point on Sean McVay's offense in Los Angeles.
Sadly, those days are long gone.
Since then, Woods has made stops in Tennessee and Houston. On the Texans over the past two seasons, the veteran wide receiver has reeled in just 60 of 105 targets (57.1 percent) while earning just 629 receiving yards over 29 games (21.6 yards per game).
Now 33 years old, Woods is going to have even less to offer the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's impossible not to notice the similarities between Woods and when the Steelers signed Van Jefferson last offseason.
Like Woods, Jefferson saw his best seasons with McVay and the LA Rams. After being a non-factor with Arthur Smith in Atlanta, the new Steelers offensive coordinator decided he wanted to bring in Jefferson last offseason.
In one year in Pittsburgh, Jefferson started 12 of 17 games, but managed a dismal 276 yards and two touchdowns. The veteran saw just a 47.5 percent success rate and struggled to create separation. Every time he was on the field, it felt like a wasted opportunity to get someone else involved. Now, Woods fills the void of Jefferson, who joined the Titans in free agency.
So, essentially, the Pittsburgh Steelers swapped Van Jefferson for... Van Jefferson.
This is hardly a big signing, and the cap spent is minimal. Woods isn't guaranteed to make the final Steelers roster, and after what he's shown the past two seasons, he probably shouldn't. Keep your expectations low; this isn't the same Robert Woods you remember from his days with the Rams.