The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is going to look drastically different in 2025, one way or another. Whether that translates to more points and wins is another conversation, but the personnel changes are as inspiring as they are anxiety-inducing.
If trade rumors are to be believed, the Steelers could be looking to add another star receiver to the fold. Multiple Steelers insiders have suggested the team has shown interest in pursuing a trade for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave. The Saints, of course, are heading into the season with plenty of question marks of their own after quarterback Derek Carr announced his retirement after the 2025 NFL Draft.
There are a lot of reasons that Olave and the Steelers might not mix, and plenty of that has to do with Olave’s injury history. However, considering the Steelers' position in the NFL landscape, pursuing a talent such as Olave is a wise move.
Through three seasons, Olave has started in just 28 games. He’s only started more than 10 games in a single season once in his career and yet he’s posted two 1,000-yard seasons and has caught nearly 200 passes.
Olave burst onto the scene as a rookie, but has since faded as the Saints have dipped back into mediocrity post-Drew Brees. While it is tough to overlook his injury-plagued career, a move to Pittsburgh could revitalize his career as well as the Steelers’ offense.
Olave has been the No. 1 receiver without question for most of his time in New Orleans. In Pittsburgh, he and DK Metcalf would both be No. 1 receivers who operate as deep threats in different ways. It’s a marked improvement for this offense over what was positioned to feature Metcalf and George Pickens, two players with comparable skill sets.
With Pickens out of the picture and the Steelers opting not to draft a receiver this year, Pittsburgh’s receiving group is right back to where it started without a true No. 2 receiver.
Weighing the risk vs. reward of the Pittsburgh Steelers trading for Chris Olave
If Olave were brought in, his injury risk would go down with Metcalf eating up more of the target share on top of the Steelers being more run-focused than New Orleans. He also gives the Steelers another deep threat option in an offense that will look to establish the run before lofting bombs over the top.
Further, let’s not forget that Aaron Rodgers is most likely coming to town. (How could you forget that?) Whether there’s a decision settled behind the scenes or not, Rodgers is going to demand that he has more receiving options beyond Metcalf and Pat Freiermuth. Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson are far too unproven to be selling points of this offense to Rodgers.
The Steelers have more than enough trade capital to play with. They may as well gamble with their surplus of picks and add another player to the mix so that if (when) Rodgers signs, the offense looks like a contender.
Every player comes with risks, but whether or not their talent outweighs the risk is the gamble of acquiring them. Olave may not ever play a full season, even in Pittsburgh. But 1,000 yards and a few touchdowns in 10 games might seem worth the gamble to the Steelers, especially if they're lucky enough to get even more out of him.