Since the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Diontae Johnson, there have been plenty of names brought up as potential options to replace him.
Tyler Boyd is the top free agent option available right now. The Steelers were previously believed to be interested, but landing him has been called a “longshot”.
Tyler Lockett was recently brought up as an option because of his ties to Russell Wilson.
Courtland Sutton’s name has come up for the same reason.
There are also numerous draft options the Steelers could look at.
Now there’s a new name that has been introduced to the conversation.
Steelers Nation’s Braeden Boyles believes the Steelers should look at Las Vegas Raiders receiver Jakobi Meyers as a potential trade target to replace Johnson.
Meyers’ Consistent Success Despite QB Instability
After going undrafted in 2019, Meyers couldn’t have asked for a better situation than the one he ended up in.
He signed with the Patriots to join a team that had Tom Brady at QB and very few established pass catchers.
As a rookie, Meyers made 26 catches for 359 yards.
Then his situation stopped being so appealing. Brady left to join the Buccaneers and he was replaced by a declining Cam Newton.
In his second NFL season, Meyers led a bad passing attack for the Pats with 59 catches for 729 yards. He didn’t catch a touchdown pass that season, but he did throw 2 of the team’s 12 touchdown passes.
The following year, the situation got a bit better. The team drafted Mac Jones to play QB and he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. With him under center, Meyers caught 83 passes for 866 yards and finally found the end zone for the first time in his career.
The next season, the Patriots’ offense went downhill as the team decided not to replace Josh McDaniels as their offensive coordinator when he left to become the head coach of the Raiders.
Despite the team’s struggles on offense, Meyers was able to make 67 catches for 804 yards and touchdowns.
Last offseason, Meyers joined the Raiders on a three-year deal worth $33 million to reunite with McDaniels.
Once again, he ran into some disappointing QB play, with Jimmy Garoppolo and Aidan O’Connell both struggling.
That didn’t stop him from posting his third consecutive season of more than 800 yards. He reached that mark with 71 catches and added a career-high 8 touchdowns.
He hasn’t been as much of a lightning rod for trade rumors as his teammate, Davante Adams, but he could be a good fit for the Steelers if the Raiders decided to trade him.
Fit With the Steelers
The Steelers have an obvious need at wide receiver.
George Pickens is expected to have another standout season in 2024 after making 63 catches for 1140 yards last season.
However, they don’t have much to work with after him.
The next receivers up on the depth chart behind him are Calvin Austin, Van Jefferson, and Quez Watkins.
Last season, Austin had 180 receiving yards for the Steelers.
Jefferson had 209 yards between stints with the Rams and Falcons.
Watkins had 142 yards for the Eagles.
None of them is a replacement for Johnson.
Over the last two seasons, Johnson posted numbers similar to Meyers’. In 2022, he had 86 catches for 882 yards. Last season those numbers dropped to 51 catches for 717 yards.
They are also players who tend to succeed on shorter routes.
Meyers has averaged 12 yards per catch or less in each of the last three seasons. Johnson has done so in four of his five NFL seasons.
If the Steelers could convince the Raiders to part with him, Meyers would fit in well as a second option for whoever their starting quarterback ends up being.
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