Steelers Trading for a WR Is Still on the Table

One thing is clear, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in dire need of a No. 2 wide receiver after trading Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers last month. It’s expected that they’ll address the gaping hole in the draft, but the depth chart doesn’t look great as of right now. Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus thinks the Steelers “may have a bottom-5” WR room in the NFL as it currently stands.

Pittsburgh added wide receivers Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins in free agency, nothing flashy but they can be serviceable secondary options. Cordarrelle Patterson can play receiver, too, but he’s expected to be the team’s No. 3 running back.

The Steelers have been connected to potential blockbuster trades at wide receiver, and it only intensified when San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk sparked speculation on when he sent a message to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on X, stating “@CoachTomlin they saying we twins. What you think?”

It was all started by Gerry Dulac on the Rich Eisen Show, who believed that the team could shoot higher than Mike Williams for the next receiver they add to the team.

“Or bigger is all I will tell you Rich and we shall see, but that is another step that they are going to make. Like I said, it might not even be Mike Williams, it might be a bigger catch if you will. No pun intended,” Dulac said.

The Steelers were interested in Tyler Boyd, but they couldn’t agree on compensation. Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan reported on Tuesday that the Steelers offered Boyd a two-year contract in the range of $10 million.

The free-agent wide receiver market is pretty dried up now, but Dulac thinks a trade could still be in the cards.

“I would never say never. But I think the major moves are done, though I still won’t rule out a trade of some significance,” Dulac wrote in his online chat on Wednesday.

After the Buffalo Bills dealt Stefon Diggs and two day three picks to the Houston Texans for a second-round pick in 2025, the flames around the Aiyuk trade rumors ignited once again, with most people pondering what the Diggs trade meant for an Aiyuk price tag. In reality, the 49ers have not expressed much interest in trading Aiyuk, at least not yet, but if that happens, Bleacher Report floated one possible deal. And the Steelers could be in on him.

The deal would be the Steelers trading their first-round pick (20th overall) and one of their third-round picks (98th overall) for Aiyuk and a fourth-round pick from the 49ers (132nd overall). Pittsburgh would still have to pay Aiyuk, too, but that deal seems reasonable.