With the November 10 NFL trade deadline now just hours away, the Pittsburgh Steelers are rumored to be hunting for wide receiver help—and a few notable names have been floated out there. Some outlets have toyed with the idea of trading for Chargers' Ladd McConkey, while Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is still drawing trade buzz.
But as Steelers fans, you'll have to forgive us if we don't fully trust Omar Khan with wide receiver moves at the deadline.
While the Steelers' general manager has done many things well since taking over as GM following the 2022 draft, acquiring wide receiver talent—specifically via trade—has not been one of them.
Omar Khan has a shaky history when it comes to trading for wide receivers
We've seen this song and dance before. The Steelers realize their receiver corps isn't up to par, so Khan makes a move to land an unspectacular option he thinks will help... and it never does.
At the 2024 NFL trade deadline—one year after making a pick-swap deal with the Los Angeles Rams to acquire Allen Robinson II—the Steelers traded with the New York Jets for an aging Mike Williams. While Williams made one pivotal play against the Commanders, this proved to be a disastrous move that didn't do anything to help the team.
During the 2025 offseason, the Steelers traded a second-round pick for DK Metcalf, only to turn around and make him a top-five-highest-paid receiver in the NFL at the time. Where has that gotten them? We're a year and a half into the Metcalf experiment, and this is clearly looking like a regrettable move.
If that wasn't enough, the Steelers traded for Michael Pittman Jr. one year later during the 2026 offseason. Pittman landed on IR in the first half of the season, but he was atrocious before that. And what little athleticism he had to begin with was clearly zapped.
At the deadline, specifically, Khan tried and failed to fix the wide receiver room in the past. When he couldn't land a trade at last year's deadline, he settled for a pair of washed-up receivers in Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. How'd that work out? In addition to making the offense slower and less explosive, they only stunted the growth and development of younger players like Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can't afford another patchwork wide receiver move from Omar Khan at the NFL deadline
Khan can't make the same mistakes at the deadline this year.
There are really only two options the Steelers should consider: make a trade splash big enough to make a notable difference to the offense, or don't do anything at all. In other words, trust the development of players like Wilson and rookie WR Germie Bernard, while leaning heavily on two quality tight ends and an elite running back in Jaylen Warren.
But if this team is to make a move, it better be big. A McConkey-level addition could prompt real change as a go-to target in the passing game. There are rumors out there that the Steelers could try to land a player like Calvin Ridley, but this would be just more of the same—a veteran addition that doesn't move the needle for the offense.
It makes zero sense to try to secure a wide receiver at the NFL trade deadline just for the sake of adding to the room. There's no sense in giving up any sort of draft capital only to take more promising players like Bernard and Wilson off the field.
If Omar Khan makes a move this time around, it needs to be for a receiver who's better than anyone they have. And if it's not someone who moves the needle and gives Aaron Rodgers a go-to target, then it's not worth doing. No more of this patchwork job at the deadline.
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