The Pittsburgh Steelers sent shockwaves through the fandom this week when they traded 2019 third-round wide out Diontae Johnson — a key piece of the offense over the previous five seasons — to the Carolina Panthers in a dubious move. Fortunately, those types of transactions have been few and far between for Steelers GM Omar Khan in his brief tenure, but it has left supporters wondering who will catch Russell Wilson’s throws this season.
Most of the Steelers’ free agency decisions have suggested a desire to go “all-in” on the 2024 season, so it’s reasonable to assume the Steelers won’t be satisfied with their depth chart, which effectively begins and ends with third-year wide out George Pickens.
Let’s imagine the Steelers want to get a bit wild in the wide receiver market after moving Diontae Johnson and are willing to put some money behind the offense. After all, Pittsburgh has been in the bottom eight in offensive expenditure since the 2021 season, including “dead last” in 2022 and 2024 (at least thus far during the free agency period).
Steelers fans are all too familiar with San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who shocked Pittsburgh with an 8-129-2 stat line in Week 1 of the 2023 season. Wouldn’t it be good to have that big play potential at bat for the black and gold for a change?
Though Johnson had his ups and downs with the Steelers, sending him away cost Pittsburgh his refinement as a route runner. Aiyuk could make up for that deficit tenfold, ranking in the 86th percentile among wide receivers in separation percentage against single coverage over the past two seasons, according to PFF.
Aiyuk will not be the contested catch fanatic that Pickens is (though he is well than capable of doing it), but he does provide finesse and stability, as well as plenty of jaw-dropping plays in between. Over the last two seasons, Aiyuk has ranked second among all wide receivers with a 90.7 PFF receiving grade, while ranking in the 64th+ percentile among wideouts in yards after catch per reception (4.7), yards per route run (2.21), drop rate (4.3%), and average depth of target (12.8).
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