It took longer than expected, but the Steelers landed the star wide receiver they needed to round out their offense with the trade with Seattle for DK Metcalf.
In the 6-foot-4, 229-pound Metcalf, the Steelers didn't just add a wide receiver, they added a fear factor for opposing defenses. And it really doesn't matter who the team's quarterback might wind up being.
With Metcalf and his sub-4-4-second speed on one side of the field and nearly as large George Pickens on the other side, the Steelers can challenge a defense like few other teams in the league.
There shouldn't be a safety within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage with those two players on the field together all season. And if they are, look out.
The Steelers want to run the ball at a high percentage, more than most teams. That doesn't mean they can't or won't throw the ball, but they'll certainly see a lot less loaded boxes in 2025 than they did in 2024.
And then, there's the impact Metcalf can have on Pickens.
"Just to know George from the little conversations that we had in passing, great player, watching from afar," Metcalf said. "The receiver coaching (Zach Azzanni) calls him 'freak show,' and I think that's a fitting name for him with the circus catches that he makes.
"But I'm just here to try to instill any wisdom or any knowledge that he allows me to, and vice versa. I feel like there's some things that I can learn from him that he does, and like you said, I've played with great receivers like Tyler Lockett, Freddie Swain, Josh Gordon was on the team my rookie year. So I've been around some very talented receivers to where I knew how to take a backseat and learn from guys like that. I'm willing to do the same if the case may be that here."
So, the addition of Metcalf could help the Steelers on the field and off the field if he helps unlock the next level of play from Pickens, who has certainly been good but could even be better.
That's the other thing Metcalf will bring to the table. As the clear-cut No. 1 receiver for the Steelers last season, Pickens could be doubled on every play.
Now? Not so much – unless opponents are willing to watch Metcalf running through or behind their defenses.
That will make life easier for everyone else on the offense to operate.
Including whomever the Steelers have at quarterback.
• The same way that Pickens can learn from Metcalf, Joey Porter Jr. can learn from cornerback Darius Slay, signed to a one-year deal in free agency.
As Porter has done at times in his first two seasons with the Steelers, Slay has been a player over the course of his long career who has followed the opponent's top receiver.
He knows what that kind of pressure is like.
Porter was very good as a rookie in 2023 playing opposite veteran Patrick Peterson. He was good in 2024, but he can be even better.
And having another veteran presence such as a six-time Pro Bowl player in Slay can only help.
"It's going to be great. I love that," Slay said. "That's the best part of my job. I love meeting new people. Some people don't like meeting folks. I love meeting folks. I love having extended family because I like just to meet people. I'm very outgoing, and that's one of the biggest roles I like to take, just helping mentor younger guys because guys did that for me, so I've got to return the favor for me in my way, and that's how I do it, and I do it with genuine love, not by force.
"It's because I want them to be great. I want them to always be better than me. Every guy I ever had under me, my job is to make sure they'd be better than me, as a player, person, everything."
Slay did it last year for the Eagles with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. They got better as the season wore on and by season's end, Philadelphia had won the Super Bowl and felt good enough about those two young cornerbacks – selected in the first and second rounds last year – that they moved on from Slay.
Veteran leadership is extremely important.
• Some of the Steelers' other additions thus far – linebacker Malik Harrison, running back Kenneth Gainwell and cornerback Brandin Echols – might not be as sexy as some hoped in the opening hours of free agency, but they'll also fill key roles, even if they aren't necessarily starters like Metcalf and Slay.
All have serious special teams play in their backgrounds while also playing key roles offensively or defensively on their previous teams.
They're also all younger players than some of the departing players they're expected to replace.
In the NFL, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. And there's a lot better chance that a 26 or 27-year-old player can still get better than there is for a 30-something player to show improvement.
If you're a great player, ie. Cam Heyward or Slay, you can maintain a high-level of play into your 30s based on your knowledge of what it takes to continue to play at that level.
But that base level had better be pretty high.
• As things stand after the opening salvo of free agency, the Steelers stand to have big gains in the compensatory pick game for 2026.
And given some of the reported contracts signed by their free agents, that's unlikely to change.
Per OvertheCap.com, which does as good of a job as anyone at predicting the NFL's compensatory picks, the Steelers should receive a third-round compensatory selection for offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. signing with the Tennessee Titans.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast Pittonline@iheartmedia.com
The compensatory picks in the third round this year are from 97 through 102 in the third round.
Justin Fields' signing with the New York Jets is predicted to get the Steelers a fourth-round compensatory selection.
The fourth-round compensatory picks this year are in the 130s.
The signings of guard James Daniels and cornerback Donte Jackson with the Dolphins and Chargers, respectively, would net the Steelers a pair of sixth-round compensatory picks.
This year, those selections fall in the 209 to 216 range.
If the Steelers don't trade any picks away for the 2026 NFL Draft, they should, at the very least, have six selections in the first 130 or so picks.
That's some serious ammunition to be aggressive in 2026, even more so than GM Omar Khan was in acquiring Metcalf.
• The league announced its compensatory selections for the 2025 NFL Draft earlier this week, and the Steelers, as expected, did not receive any.
But, with the compensatory selections now in place, the draft order has officially been set.
After sending a second-round pick (52 overall) and a seventh-rounder (223) to the Seahawks in exchange for Metcalf and a sixth-round (185) pick in the draft, the Steelers have pick No. 21 in the first round, pick 83 in the third round, 123 in the fourth round, 156 in the fifth round, 185 in the sixth round and 229 in the seventh.
That's a little different than things looked previously and shows the value of swapping picks in the later rounds in the deal for Metcalf.
Prior to the trade, the Steelers did have a second round pick, but they did not have a sixth-round selection, instead having two sevenths.
Now, they have a pick in every round – except the second. But they also have Metcalf.
