Heading into Week 4, the Pittsburgh Steelers are continuing to ride high at 3-0 and look like one of the tougher teams in football at the moment.
The reason this team is so tough? Defense.
Currently, the Steelers are the no. 1 defense in all of football, giving up an NFL-low 229.0 yards and 8.7 points per game. This is Steelers football, although there are fans who hope to see a bit more on offense in the near future.
The Steelers haven't done much of anything notable on offense through three games, and they actually rank 24th both in yards per game and points per game. Quarterback Justin Fields has done enough to win games and is playing mostly turnover-free football, which is a big key to why the team has been successful early on.
Fields, though, would benefit from the Steelers potentially adding another wide receiver before the trade deadline.
Prior to the season, the Steelers were, of course, heavily involved in trade discussions regarding San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who ultimately got his new deal with the Niners. ESPN's Dan Graziano recently speculated over Pittsburgh continuing to monitor the wide receiver market, though.
Where the Steelers' offense is probably still a little short is at wide receiver," he wrote. Graziano also talked about how the team loves the way Fields has played and they're particularly happy with how the offensive line has performed as well.
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Graziano noted that Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is one of a couple veteran wideouts that "could conceivably become available."
DeAndre Hopkins might be exactly what the Steelers offense needs
While George Pickens is undoubtedly very talented, he's also still learning to be "the guy" for this offense. Pittsburgh doesn't have a whole lot of reliability behind Pickens, though, and adding someone like the former All Pro, in Hopkins, could be a beneficial move.
In the last year of his contract with Tennessee, Hopkins had been working his way back from injury to start the season before finally being utilized more heavily in Week 3, catching six of seven targets for 73 yards and a touchdown.
The problem is, the Titans stink. Their defense has been great, but offensively, things are a mess. Quarterback Will Levis looks like anything but a franchise player, struggling with turnovers and decision-making.
At 0-3, it might only take one or two more weeks before the Titans start to seriously consider selling. For Hopkins, it probably wouldn't take much on Pittsburgh's end. If the Steelers offered somewhere along the lines of a conditional sixth-round pick, for a one-year rental of Hopkins, that could get it done.
Hopkins is 32 years old and still has some juice left in the tank, and his veteran presence would be a steady, reliable attribute to this offense. He'd be great for Fields; someone the quarterback could depend on when it mattered most.
Graziano did say Hopkins "might be appealing to the Steelers" should the Titans continue to falter.