The Pittsburgh Steelers are running it back with a strategy similar to the one that landed them Russell Wilson — only this time, they actually landed the star receiver. After coming up short in their pursuit of Brandon Aiyuk last offseason, the Steelers reeled in DK Metcalf to pair with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers for an all-in push in 2025. Will the bold move pay off, or are they about to learn the definition of insanity with the same results in a different year?
Former NFL WR Andrew Hawkins is worried that the lack of a No. 2 WR is destined to tank their season.
“I’m not super hopeful to be honest with you,” Hawkins said via ESPN’s NFL Live on Monday. “That’s not a knock on the Steelers, that’s not a knock on Aaron Rodgers. I just haven’t seen Aaron Rodgers at his best in years. So now he goes to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they have DK Metcalf on one side, but who’s the number two receiver? DK is about to go into a situation where he’s not used to not having someone on the other side to take that attention away.”
Metcalf always had the benefit of playing alongside Tyler Lockett throughout his time in Seattle. And even last year, as Lockett fell off, he had Jaxson Smith-Njigba helping take attention away. There have only been two games in Metcalf’s career where Lockett was missing, one each in 2021 and 2022. Metcalf had 13 receptions on 21 targets for 133 yards and no TDs across those two games. It’s not a large enough sample size to draw conclusions, but they weren’t his most productive or efficient games.
Funny enough, Calvin Austin III drew comparisons to Lockett from his former QB, Russell Wilson, last season. Steelers WR coach Zach Azzanni pretty confidently dubbed Austin the team’s No. 2 WR despite most of the media still calling for them to make another trade or signing. Metcalf could be right at home working with a receiver like Austin if he continues progressing like last season. Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Roman Wilson shouldn’t be forgotten in conversation.
Although Metcalf isn’t used to drawing all the attention as the only big-name WR on a team, Aaron Rodgers will feel right at home. For the last several years of his career in Green Bay, Davante Adams was his only top receiver to work with. He still managed to have two MVP seasons with a WR corps that looked much worse than the one in Pittsburgh at the moment.
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