The Steelers’ receiver room has run out of excuses.
Four weeks in, Pittsburgh has already seen enough problems stack up to make the offense feel thin in all the wrong places. The line hasn’t taken the step the team wanted, the linebackers have dropped off sharply, and the secondary is still a mess after the Joey Porter Jr. trade. But the lack of reliable wideout production keeps hanging over everything.
That’s especially true after another offseason spent trying to reshape the group. Instead of becoming a strength, the room has settled into the same old pattern: a splash play here, a quiet stretch there, and not nearly enough consistent separation.
Aaron Rodgers hasn’t exactly bailed them out when chances have come, either. Pittsburgh needs more juice, more explosive threats, and more players who can actually tilt a defense.
Right now, DK Metcalf has struggled, Roman Wilson has been inconsistent, Germie Bernard hasn’t really been given a real shot, and Michael Pittman Jr. has been a complete non-factor. So if the Steelers are going to make a move, there are a few names that could fit, including some that might not cost a premium price.
Quentin Johnston is one of them.
He hasn’t become the star many expected when he went in the first round, but he has still carved out a role as a capable second option who can threaten defenses vertically. Over the past two seasons, he put up more than 700 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in each year.
That production has dried up fast, though. In Mike McDaniel’s offense, he has become more of an afterthought, with just seven catches and a little over 100 yards through four games.
The Chargers are struggling across the board, and the sense is that a roster shakeup could be coming after the season. Johnston no longer feels like part of their long-term plan.
Even with his fifth-year option already picked up, the deal is still manageable if Pittsburgh wanted to keep him beyond this year. For a player who seems to need a fresh start, the Steelers make sense as a landing spot.
Tyreek Hill is a different kind of swing, but the fit is obvious.
If he’s getting healthy again, he brings exactly what Pittsburgh lacks: speed, after-the-catch juice, and a real deep threat who can line up anywhere. At this stage of his career, some of that explosion is naturally going to fade, but Hill still has enough in the tank to matter in a lot of ways.
The catch is obvious, too. He hasn’t played in a while, so he’d need time to ramp up and get back into game shape.
Still, he wouldn’t cost a draft pick. That matters.
There’s plenty of risk here, because there’s no guarantee he gets back to where he was before the injury. But for a Steelers passing game that has been so inefficient, taking a shot makes sense.
Brian Thomas Jr. might be the most intriguing name of the three.
He flashed immediately as a rookie and looked like a player who could work his way into Rookie of the Year conversations. Then Liam Coen took over, and the fit between Thomas and the offense seemed to unravel. Now he looks almost forgotten, with only nine catches through the first four games.
He’s not being used as a deep threat anymore, and Parker Washington has clearly passed him in the pecking order. Like Johnston, he seems stuck in a situation that no longer fits and could benefit from a change of scenery.
Pittsburgh could offer that. The quarterback play would have to improve, but Thomas could help bring that improvement with him.
He’d also give the Steelers a dangerous second option alongside Metcalf, and at just the start of his third year, there’s real runway here. The team would have at least two seasons to evaluate him, and if things click, the fifth-year option gives them even more control.
There’s always risk when a player has already stalled out once, but Thomas stands in a class of his own among receivers who could be available. If the Steelers are serious about fixing this offense, they’d be smart to ask about him.
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There are other absences already on the books, with Ashton Dulin, Arden Key and Jaylon Carlies ruled out for the game. Center Tanor Bortolini is also still in limbo, which only adds to the sense that the Colts may be piecing together a lineup while trying to stay on track at 2-2 against a Pittsburgh team that is usually unforgiving when opponents are short-handed. [Read more 🡒]