PITTSBURGH – After a months-long search, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally found their answer at the No. 2 wide receiver position by trading for Mike Williams on Tuesday prior to the NFL trade deadline. The Steelers sent a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Jets in exchange for Williams.
Williams, 30, is a 6-foot-4, 218-pound receiver that will immediate provide size and experience to the group of receivers playing alongside George Pickens. Williams could be the key to unlocking the Steelers passing game, which has looked better with Russell Wilson at quarterback in the last two games.
In 2021 with the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams caught 76 passes for 1,146 yards (15.1 average) and nine touchdowns. On contested targets since 2018, Mike Williams has the third-highest receiving grade (94.1), ranks second in receptions (91) and second in receiving yards (1,495), according to Pro Football Focus.
“It’s big time. Just another threat. He’s a downfield guy,” Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth said on Wednesday. “He can make plays throughout the field. We’re really excited to have him and hopefully, he can bring some good things for our offense.”
With Williams now in the fold, team’s can no longer just double-team Pickens.
“Having those two guys that can make plays down the field, is gonna limit defenses on what they can do, and hopefully open up opportunities for me and Calvin [Austin III] in the middle of the field,” Freiermuth said. “If we can do that, and dictate what we want to do to defenses, we’ll be pretty successful moving forward.”
Steelers general manager Omar Khan also addressed the defensive side of the ball by trading a seventh-round pick for veteran outside linebacker Preston Smith from the Green Bay Packers.
Smith has started 138 games over 10 years between the Packers and Washington and has 68.5 career sacks. He joins an already loaded outside linebacker room with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.
“We’ve known that from the beginning. We’ve known we have to win playoff games. That was our goal coming into the year,” Freiermuth said about the improvements on the roster with adding Williams and Smith. “Anytime the front office can add pieces that can help us win, obviously, it’s cool, but we knew from the start that we were all in to win this thing this year.”
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.