With a record-tying ten head coaching gigs coming available in this cycle, much discourse has taken place regarding the level of attractiveness of the Pittsburgh Steelers job itself. Nonetheless, Mike McCarthy clearly feels elated for the opportunity to lead his hometown team, evidenced by his emotional opening press conference that won many fans over with his passion for the city.
Now that most of the coaching staff is in place, the focus will begin to shift towards the active roster. The search for the next franchise quarterback figures to be an ongoing adventure, but independent of that pursuit, there are other critical needs that need to be addressed. The wide receiver position sits atop that list.
On Tuesday, McCarthy was complimentary of the roster itself, stating that both Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan left the cupboard full for him. In some areas that is true. However, the lack of perimeter playmaking has been one of the bigger reasons for their early exits in recent postseasons.
On the surface, that seems quite problematic for a play caller with a penchant for throwing the ball all over the yard. In five of his last eight seasons calling the shots, McCarthy's West Coast-based offenses have finished sixth or higher in passing attempts. When you look at the Steelers' current depth chart, it's clear that they have a significant amount of work to do in terms of upgrading the personnel if this marriage is going to work.
The conversation starts with how to get the most out of DK Metcalf , a player whom the front office paid a king's ransom to acquire just last offseason. This topic was surely something that came up throughout the interview process with all of the candidates, but does McCarthy view Metcalf as a true alpha WR1 reminiscent of the stars he's worked with in previous stops? One of the best perks of this offense is that the ball does find the best players, which seems like common sense, but that was a significant issue last season under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. For example, CeeDee Lamb finished top ten in target share every season from 2022-24, with finishes of eighth, fifth, and 11th in yards per route run during that time frame.
That type of efficiency is a credit to multiple parties: the quarterback, the offensive infrastructure, but just as importantly, the player himself. Part of what makes Lamb such a dynamic weapon is his versatility to play all three spots as a traditional X, flanker, or slot receiver at such a high level. On the flip side, Metcalf has been glued to the boundary for the vast majority of his career with a much more stripped-down route tree.
The only way the Steelers were ever going to get enough return on investment on their gamble was if he proved he could simply do more than what he showed in Seattle , where he finished inside the top ten in receiving yards just once in six years. But now at 28 years old, having operated in a bunch of different ecosystems, it's fair to become rather skeptical on whether there's more to tap into.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf in a game against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 15, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Regardless, he's their only real proven player currently on the roster, with Calvin Austin III slated to hit free agency. Roman Wilson , the team's third-round selection in 2024, has not been able to get a helmet on gamedays more often than not and is more likely headed for the roster bubble than towards a contributing role. When you look around the league at other teams' depth charts, this is clearly one of the most barren rooms in the NFL.
The positive spin on this is that McCarthy is being given a pretty clean slate to work with and the power to exercise his voice on the style of players necessary to make this offense hum. It might take him a couple of off-seasons to fix the recent mistakes of the organization, but with him in charge, odds are that they'll at least try to remedy them this time around.
The good news is that the Steelers are going to have plenty of options to address their second biggest need. The NFL salary cap continues to skyrocket, with the Steelers projected to have somewhere around $45 million in cap space entering 2026, the eighth-most in the NFL. Overall, the free agency pool is underwhelming, which has definitely been a theme over the last couple of years now.
With that being said, there are a handful of useful WR2-types that Pittsburgh could use, should they choose to go that route. George Pickens is a no-go for obvious reasons, and it would be pretty surprising to see them in the Alec Pierce sweepstakes, but guys like Rashid Shaheed and Romeo Doubs would be great compliments at market cost. Based on the team's timeline, Omar Khan and company should really try to prioritize youth this time around, rather than continuing to bet on players age 30+ and over.
Just from a pure numbers perspective, the team is guaranteed to sign one or more receivers this spring, but if they opt to wait until the 2026 NFL Draft to swing big, that's a strategy that makes sense, too. Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson and USC's Makai Lemon were summer scouting darlings that dominated again this season and are worthy first-round caliber prospects. The depth of the class is tantalizing as well, with guys like Omar Cooper from Indiana and Ted Hurst from Georgia State being under-the-radar guys that burst onto the scene as day two guys with upside. There's no shortage of flavors on the proverbial menu for them to choose from, and double-dipping at the position should be on the table for the Steelers.
It's going to be difficult for Pittsburgh to escape the NFL's middle-class purgatory until they find a solution at the quarterback position, but solving that puzzle won't be an easy task this offseason given the options currently available. Nevertheless, whoever is under center is going to need talented receiving assets at their disposal, and the organization's focus should be about surrounding their next franchise guy with as much talent as possible. That means prioritizing the offensive side of the ball more. Who knows how the Mike McCarthy era will truly go, but you can guarantee that they aren't going to simply neglect that side of the ball any longer.
That alone will be a welcomed sight for Steelers fans on Sundays to come.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Bell: Mike McCarthy Hired to Fix Steelers Past Offensive Sins
Related Headlines
