As the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to navigate their offseason, they’ve afforded themselves a bit of a higher floor by bringing in quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Still, some questions surrounding the club continue to exist as 2025 training camp approaches.
Thanks to a blockbuster trade, a few answers are rising to the surface. While the acquisition of cornerback Jalen Ramsey is a headliner, leading to a league insider referring to it as a “doozy,” adding tight end Jonnu Smith to the fold as well helps shore up a “lingering question” Mike DeFabo had in a story for The Athletic.
“Steelers GM Omar Khan significantly shook up the receiver room this offseason when he acquired DK Metcalf and traded away George Pickens,” DeFabo wrote on June 30. “Is Khan done wheeling and dealing?”
Steelers’ Trade for Jonnu Smith Adds Intrigue to Tight End Unit
Although Smith surely isn’t a wideout by trade, Khan and company may have discovered a roundabout way to alleviate some pressure that was (and still is, to a degree) bearing down on the receiving corps.
According to Pro Football Focus, the 29-year-old spent a career-high 23.8% of his snaps lined up out wide this past season. Smith came into the league during a time when he and other tight ends would be inline more often (64% or higher for Smith from 2017-2019), but that’s changed. For both the talented pass catcher and his team, it’s probably for the better. In the 2024-25 campaign, Smith’s pre-snap alignment percentage for the slot (46) was also a healthy figure.
Adding Smith should have a ripple effect on the tight end room, too. For Pat Freiermuth, specifically, the overlap might not be quite as daunting as you think. The latter is coming off a 65-catch, 653-yard, 7-touchdown season and is more of a big-bodied target who’s a blocking threat and a medium-range option (24% of targets a season ago, per PFF). Smith is a yards-after-catch maestro and is more dynamic with the football in his hands on screens and short-area targets. Freiermuth will still be involved, as his four-year contract extension makes obvious.
All of this is without even factoring in someone like Connor Heyward. As he embraces the potential reality of playing multiple positions, so could Smith. The tight end talent Pittsburgh possesses is a good problem to have.
Assessing the Current State of Steelers’ Overall Offensive Arsenal
Of course, the Steelers still aren’t totally in the clear. The receiver spot can’t be ignored as a question mark, even with the tight end room helping make it a lesser issue. Star DK Metcalf is one heck of a start, but there isn’t high-level depth behind him.
As DeFabo notes, options like Robert Woods, Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson are nothing to write home about. He adds that head coach Mike Tomlin and Co. must “decide not only if they have a legitimate WR2” but also if they can now “handle a prolonged absence of their new WR1.” Losing Metcalf for any period of time would deal the offense a significant blow.
Could one last move serve as the cherry on top? ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler recently linked free agent wideout Gabe Davis to Pittsburgh. Davis, once close to being a budding star on the Buffalo Bills, had his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars cut short after a letdown 2024 season. He hauled in just 20 passes for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns, playing through injuries and failing to be as effective as the club hoped.
Whatever the decision is, it’ll be with Khan knowing the offense is already in a better place than it was earlier in the summer.
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