The Pittsburgh Steelers have some serious holes in the wide receiver room. As of right now, George Pickens is atop the depth chart and there is no clear cut option to become the number two option behind Pickens. Brandon Aiyuk, who the Steelers have been rumored to be interested in all offseason, has allegedly requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. Aiyuk won't be a cheap acquisition though; the Steelers might opt to go a cheaper route to bolster the wide receiver room if they decide to make any moves at all before this season.
Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins and rookie Roman Wilson are all in the mix for the number two wide receiver spot at this moment. Jefferson probably has the upper leg due to him having the most individual success of the group so far in his career, but it's hard to say if a team with that wide receiver room can compete at the highest level, especially in a pass-heavy league.
While the Steelers are the betting favorites to land Aiyuk, it could cost them high draft picks, a lot of money and even a star pass rusher like Alex Highsmith. While the cheaper route is less flashy, it might be better long term. Cory Woodruff from USA Today listed Allen Lazard as a potential training camp trade candidate in a recent article. Woodruff named the Steelers, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles as possible teams.
"Trading Lazard for a late-round pick would net New York $10 million in cap space, which could easily go to good use to add talent elsewhere on the roster."
While that deal sure makes a lot of sense for the New York Jets, Lazard might not be worth the money at this point in his career and he might not even be that much of an upgrade to the Steelers already lackluster wide receiver room. Lazard is 28 years old and a huge 6'5 227-pound target, but he only put up 311 yards and one touchdown in 2023.
Compared to Aiyuk, Lazard would be much cheaper to acquire, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's worth a late-round pick and a chunk of money just to give Russell Wilson another decent target.
Steelers Might Be Able To Survive Without A True Number Two Wide Receiver
With the offensive scheme Arthur Smith is bringing to Pittsburgh, it isn't crazy to say that the Steelers can have a good season without making a deal for a great wide receiver to pair with Pickens.
Pat Freiermuth is a good enough receiving tight end to line up in the slot and run routes from there and the run game behind a revamped offensive line with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren could be enough. Having Wilson at quarterback feels like an upgrade at the position from last season, so maybe he can make it work with less talent around him if the scheme is run efficiently.
While adding Lazard wouldn't hurt, the Steelers should have enough talent outside of the wide receiver room to make up for the lack of a true wide receiver two. If Pittsburgh didn't have one of the best defenses in football, we might feel differently, but the Steelers aren't going to have to score 30+ points every week to win games.
Pickens might be the most talented wide receiver that Wilson has had throughout his career, so a heavy dose of Wilson to Pickens could see the passing game look the best it has in a few years even if the rest of the receivers don't end up being heavy contributors. General Manager Omar Khan has a little more than $15 million dollars in cap space to work with, so we can't rule out adding another receiver, but they might be okay without one.
