The big subplot to the San Francisco 49ers re-signing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on Thursday evening is how it will impact the team that he will not be playing for this season.
Specifically, what are the Pittsburgh Steelers going to do for a No. 2 wide receiver with Aiyuk locked up?
As the Aiyuk saga dragged on over the past month, the Steelers were one of the teams viewed as a likely potential landing spot in a trade. It seemed to be a perfect fit. Aiyuk appeared to have a legitimate interest in playing for the Steelers, while Pittsburgh had — and still has — a desperate need for a bona fide No. 2 wide receiver to play opposite of George Pickens.
The possibility of Pickens and Aiyuk teaming up was intriguing because it would have given the Steelers two of the best big-play wide receivers in football.
It won't be happening, now, leaving the Steelers in the same spot they have been in all training camp — needing more depth at the position.
As it stands just a little more than a week before their season-opening showdown in Atlanta with the Falcons, the Steelers' No. 2 wide receiver is veteran Van Jefferson, a low-risk, low-reward free-agent signing over the summer. Beyond Jefferson, the team's depth chart includes third-year player Calvin Austin (with 17 career catches), rookie third-round pick Roman Wilson (who missed all of the preseason due to injury), veteran Scotty Miller and Cordarelle Patterson — a hybrid running back/wide receiver who is mainly on the roster for his ability to return kicks.
The lack of another play-making receiver is a big problem for the offense and Pickens, specifically,
Without a proven option across from him, opposing teams can focus all of their attention on the one explosive option the Steelers can throw out there.
This is the one big misstep by the Steelers front office this offseason in what has been a mostly strong summer.
Pittsburgh traded its other top wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, to the Carolina Panthers early in the offseason for cornerback Donte Jackson and a draft pick. Johnson had his flaws as a player, especially when it came to ball security and drops, but he was still a proven player and a viable complement to Pickens. Without him and after missing out on Aiyuk, the Steelers are going to be going into the season with a significant hole at a major position.
