The Pittsburgh Steelers made two notable changes to their offense in Week 14—they signed Adam Thielen and elevated Marquez Valdes-Scantling from the practice squad. Thielen, a two-time Pro Bowler in 2017 and 2018, spent his first 11 games of the 2025 season with the Minnesota Vikings, while Valdes-Scantling spent time on the 49ers' roster before coming to Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, both wide receivers were in for a rude awakening in their first NFL action.
Despite demoting 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson and thrusting Thielen and Valdes-Scantling into immediate action, the veteran wideouts failed to make their presence felt. As DK Metcalf absorbed 12 targets in a 148-yard outing—his biggest game of the season—Thielen and MVS combined for just one reception and four receiving yards on two targets.
This wasn't because the veteran wide receivers had a bad performance against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14; it's because Arthur Smith's offense doesn't have room for its number two and three wide receivers to produce with any sort of consistency.
Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling won't put up big numbers for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Thielen and Valdes-Scantling saw the field for a combined 41 snaps (28 of the Steelers' 36 passing snaps). However, their combined four receiving yards didn't even clear the lowest of expectations in their first action with the Steelers.
When watching the two receivers on the all-22 film, it's clear that plays simply aren't designed to go to wide receivers outside of DK Metcalf.
Metcalf is often the first read for quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Arthur Smith's passing concepts—and rightfully so. Metcalf is easily the best receiver on the team. Unfortunately, the number two and three receivers in Smith's offense are often third and fourth in the passing progression, and Rodgers rarely looks in their direction.
We're finding out quickly that this isn't a Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III problem—it's a problem with the offense. Instead of engineering plays designed to go to the number two receiver, Smith's offense has used running backs and tight ends as a focal point.
The proof is in the pudding.
Running back Kenneth Gainwell—who works as part of a committee with Jaylen Warren—is second in the team in targets with 58. This is 37 more opportunities in the passing game than Wilson has seen this season and 12 more targets than Austin.
Don't expect this dynamic to change anytime soon. While Thielen and Valdes-Scantly are expected to earn more snaps per game moving forward, it doesn't mean that they are going to be highly involved in the passing attack. History with Arthur Smith's offense has shown us that there isn't much room for number two and three wide receivers to thrive.