The Pittsburgh Steelers spent their offseason making significant changes to their coaching staff and overall roster, but the bulk of the work came on the offensive side of the ball. New head coach Mike McCarthy is a decorated offensive mind, and many of their big additions, including Michael Pittman Jr., Rico Dowdle, first-round pick Max Iheanachor, and second-round pick Germie Bernard, will help raise the potential of the offense in 2026.
Receiver is where the biggest changes were made, with Pittman Jr. and Bernard offering far more talent than anything the Steelers had behind DK Metcalf in 2025. However, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox believes that Pittsburgh should look to add another veteran receiver to the mix before the start of the season, especially with Aaron Rodgers returning as the team's quarterback.
"If Pittsburgh hopes to make Rodgers' last ride a memorable one, it should add a little more to its receiving corps," Knox said in his piece. "DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. should make a solid receiver duo. However, rookies Germie Bernard and Kaden Wetjen are unproven, and Pittsburgh's overall receiver depth is lacking. Adding a vet like [DeAndre] Hopkins or Stefon Diggs would help give the Steelers a playoff-caliber offense."
The Pittsburgh Steelers would be wise to leave the top of their receiver depth chart as is for the time being
The logic by Knox is sound. Rodgers has a history of trusting less talented veteran receivers over younger, more gifted ones. It seemed to play a part in the Steelers benching Roman Wilson in favor of the clearly washed Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling late last season, and rookies especially have struggled to gain Rodgers' favor throughout his long career.
However, signing a veteran like Knox suggested would only slow down the growth of Bernard in particular. The Alabama product is not a sit-and-develop type of prospect, very much the contrary in fact. His diverse skillset and high football IQ are what made him a top-50 selection this past draft, and he has already displayed many of those traits during OTA's.
Adding someone like Diggs or Hopkins would theoretically raise the floor of the offense, but at what cost? Bernard may or may not be better than either of them this year, but he would likely need to clearly outplay them to earn the No. 3 receiver role as a rookie.
Even if the Steelers are in an obvious win-now situation, losing out on evaluating Bernard (especially with a veteran like Rodgers in the building) isn't worth being slightly better at receiver this season. I may feel differently if I were confident that they would still give ample playing time to their young playmakers, but I have no reason to believe they will.
Unless Bernard shows that he is too far away from being ready to handle a starting role as a rookie, I wouldn't add any more receivers aside from potential depth options.
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