Steelers offering DK Metcalf far inferior support at WR compared to Seahawks

When the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks in March, they and their fans began imagining what he and fellow star wide receiver George Pickens could do together.

Unfortunately for them, Metcalf and Pickens playing together in black and gold will remain in just their imagination.

Last month, the Steelers traded Pickens, who had 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns over three seasons with the team, to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and a late-round pick swap in 2027. It wasn't necessarily the wrong decision by the Steelers to trade Pickens, as he is a hothead and they know all too well what those kind of receivers bring, but it undoubtedly hurts them on the field.

Case in point, Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni recently announced that Calvin Austin III will begin the season as the team's No. 2 receiver behind Metcalf. Austin, 26, has just 53 receptions for 728 yards and five touchdowns over his first two NFL seasons.

Steelers WR coach Zach Azzanni got his WR2 pic.twitter.com/GogQwb4uXb
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) June 11, 2025

For Metcalf, this will be a stark departure from what he experienced with the Seahawks.

Throughout his entire time in Seattle, Metcalf played laongside an excellent complementary receiver in Tyler Lockett, who had four straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2019-22 and continued to produce well after that. More recently, he also played alongside a rising star in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns last year alone.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett and wide receiver DK Metcalf return to the locker room. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

With the way the Steelers' receiving corps is now, they don't have a player even close to the level of prime Lockett or Smith-Njigba. That's not to say that Austin or other Pittsburgh receivers, such as Robert Woods or Roman Wilson, but even the most die-hard of Steelers fans have to admit that they aren't on the level of Metcalf's former Seahawks teammates.

Needless to say, how Metcalf handles having a worse receiving corps around him will be interesting to watch as the season progresses.

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