Author: Jarrett Bailey

The Steelers need their 2024 third-round pick to take a big jump forward

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded star wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday morning. The Steelers received a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in return, and also sent a 2027 sixth-round pick to Dallas.

With Pickens gone, the Steelers will need someone to step up and take on a bigger role. Whether they go out and add another free agent wide receiver is yet to be determined, so one name that ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says Pittsburgh is counting on is 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson.

“[The Steelers are] counting on [a] Roman Wilson Year 2 jump,” Fowler said on X. “This offseason he looks like a different player than from his injury-riddled rookie campaign.”

The Michigan product suffered a sprained ankle in training camp last season, which ultimately led to him not getting on the field as a rookie. The Steelers drafted the National Champion wide receiver with the hopes of him being a difference-maker, and they will be counting on him to take a jump in 2025.

Wilson predominantly played in the slot at Michigan, which is likely the role he will fill with the Steelers. If he takes a big jump, similar to how Calvin Austin did in 2024, the Steelers’ corps will be far better off than what they are currently slated to be.

Here we go again with Brandon Aiyuk

Oh my, here we go again.

The Pittsburgh Steelers made their second splash trade of the offseason involving a wide receiver, this time exporting instead of importing. They traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys after acquiring DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks in March. This came after a 2024 offseason of will they-won’t they in terms of a trade for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The star receiver eventually signed an extension with the 49ers, but tore his ACL seven games into the season.

Now, the 49ers are reportedly open to trading Aiyuk less than a year after giving him a $30 million per year contract. According to Mike Florio, the Steelers are on their radar in terms of potential trade partners.

“The 49ers would love to unload Brandon Aiyuk’s contract on the Steelers,” Florio said on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.

With Aiyuk coming off a torn ACL, the Steelers could likely send a lesser draft pick to the 49ers for the former All-Pro if they were still interested in adding him. And while it may be an unpopular opinion, it would make a lot of sense to acquire Aiyuk.

Considering that the Steelers will all but certainly be drafting a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, they should do all they can to ensure he is set up for success with proven targets. The Bears did that with Caleb Williams, bringing in Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze while already having D.J. Moore. While the Bears didn’t have the season they would have hoped to have, a lot of that falls on Matt Eberflus being a bad head coach. If the Steelers can send a fourth-round pick to San Francisco and make them eat at least a bit of the contract – say $6-8 million per year of the deal – that’s a deal that should at least intrigue Omar Khan and would make the offense instantly better.

The Steelers reportedly aren’t finished making wide receiver moves.

The Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off Wednesday morning by making a blockbuster trade, sending wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys with the main compensation being a 2026 third-round pick.

This leaves a hole in the Steelers’ receiving corps, which NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted and said the Steelers aren’t done making wide receiver moves.

“I would be surprised if the Steelers are done at the wide receiver position,” Rapoport said on Good Morning Football. “They are likely to at least sign one more, and there are a couple of talented wide receivers still on the market.”

There are several free agents that the Steelers could pursue. Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper are the two most noteworthy free-agent names, with the former being more productive in 2024. Allen had 70 catches and seven touchdowns during his lone year with the Chicago Bears. Cooper had 44 catches and four scores a year ago with the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills.

Gabe Davis is also a free agent, and his skillset is that of a prototypical Arthur Smith wide receiver, so his name is one to keep an eye on.

The Steelers could be gearing up to bring a friend of Aaron Rodgers to Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday morning. Pittsburgh sent Pickens and a sixth-round pick in 2027 to Dallas in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick.

While the trade gives Pittsburgh a large collection of picks to go quarterback hunting in 2026, they still need another wide receiver with starting ability. With the hole Pickens left behind, the Steelers could be looking to make Aaron Rodgers happy and bring in one of his long-time targets.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Allen Lazard is “in play” for the Steelers.

“Jets receiver Allen Lazard is ‘in play’ to be traded to the Steelers,” Florio writes. “Why Lazard? Because Rodgers completely and totally trusts him. And Lazard, for whatever reason, performs much better with Rodgers than he does without him.”

Lazard had 37 catches and six touchdowns in 12 games last year with the Jets. His best year came in 2022 when he caught 60 passes for 788 yards and six scores.