The Pittsburgh Steelers made several notable upgrades to their offense. At the beginning of the offseason, they traded for wide receiver Michael Pittman and signed running back Rico Dowdle. In the 2026 NFL Draft, they added wide receiver Germie Bernard after trading up for him.
Despite the additions, there are those who remain skeptical about Pittsburgh. One of those skeptics is Bill Barnwell of ESPN, who ranks Pittsburgh’s group of skill position players as the No. 21 unit in the NFL.
“Another offseason
brought another trade for an expensive wide receiver by an organization that had developed a reputation for finding its own in the middle rounds of the draft,” Barnwell writes. “Michael Pittman Jr. is a good fit for what Aaron Rodgers wants to do (get the ball out quickly for short completions) but a bad fit for what the Steelers need (a wide receiver who can stretch teams downfield). Second-round pick Germie Bernard should be an upgrade on Calvin Austin III, and it’s fair to pin the problems creating big plays on the quarterback and his desire to stay clean, but the Steelers need to find a way to create explosive plays in 2026.”
Barnwell adds that the inconsistency of DK Metcalf is a large reason why the Steelers are so low on the list.
“[Metcalf] had games when that seemed possible in 2025, but it was a boom-or-bust season,” Barnwell writes. “He had four games with 85 receiving yards or more, and he didn’t top 55 yards in any of his other 12 contests.”
Barnwell acknowledges that there are good players in the offense, but the Steelers need Metcalf to become the Pro Bowl talent he was early on in his career.
“There are fun players around the receivers,” Barnwell writes. “Jaylen Warren has been able to handle almost exactly half of a running back rotation reasonably well. Rico Dowdle was prime Marshawn Lynch for a couple of weeks last season. Darnell Washington is one of the least fun players to tackle on the planet. Pat Freiermuth can go missing for stretches, but he’s also still capable enough to produce big games, like the 111-yard, two-score performance he put together in the shootout against the Bengals last season. There are no bad players here, but they could really use a vintage season from Metcalf.”
The aforementioned additions should open things up for Metcalf, rather than allow defenses to make him their sole focus. Should Pittman, Bernard, and the run game all prove to be the high-quality additions many believe them to be, Pittsburgh’s offense very well could surprise many in 2026.
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