The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

Chris Gates | The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

Of all the problems the Pittsburgh Steelers had on offense in 2025, wide receiver was one of the most obvious.

It was also supposed to be one of the most obvious areas of improvement in 2026.

That was certainly my expectation.

The Steelers entered this season with DK Metcalf as their clear No. 1 receiver. They added Michael Pittman Jr., giving them an established veteran No. 2. Roman Wilson was another year into his NFL career. And Pittsburgh added Germie Bernard through the draft.

This wasn’t supposed to be a perfect wide receiver room.

But compared to what the Steelers were working with a year ago?

It absolutely looked better.

Two games into the season, somehow it looks worse.

And the biggest problem is at the very top.

The Steelers Need Much More From DK Metcalf

Let’s start with Metcalf because that’s where this conversation has to begin.

The Steelers are paying Metcalf more than $30 million per year to be their No. 1 wide receiver.

That comes with expectations.

It doesn’t mean he has to catch 10 passes for 150 yards every Sunday. It doesn’t mean he has to dominate every cornerback he faces.

But he has to make the plays that are there.

Right now, he’s not doing that.

Drops have become a legitimate problem through the first two games, and Sunday’s 20-3 loss to New England was particularly frustrating.

Metcalf was matched up against Christian Gonzalez, so nobody should have expected this to be an easy afternoon. Gonzalez is one of the NFL’s premier cornerbacks.

But there were opportunities.

And when those opportunities came, Metcalf didn’t consistently capitalize on them.

For much of the game, his stat line was almost nonexistent — 2 catches for 2 yards and multiple drops, until garbage time in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh eventually padded his numbers somewhat late, but that doesn’t accurately describe the impact he had on the game.

For most of Sunday, the Steelers’ $30-million-plus No. 1 receiver did essentially nothing.

Worse, when Pittsburgh finally managed to create opportunities in the passing game, drops killed them.

That’s a massive problem for an offense that already has almost no margin for error.

This Offense Can’t Afford Drops

If the Steelers had a dominant offensive line, a productive running game and weapons everywhere, a couple of drops would be frustrating but manageable.

That’s not this offense.

Right now, Pittsburgh’s offensive line is struggling badly.

Aaron Rodgers isn’t consistently getting enough time to throw. The Steelers aren’t consistently creating running lanes. Protection problems are disrupting plays before they have an opportunity to develop.

That means when everything actually works — when the protection holds up, Rodgers makes the correct read, the route creates separation and the football arrives where it’s supposed to — Pittsburgh desperately needs the receiver to finish the play.

That’s why Metcalf’s drops are so damaging.

The Steelers are already fighting just to manufacture opportunities.

They can’t afford to waste the ones they get.

And that’s what makes this different from simply looking at a box score and complaining that Metcalf didn’t have enough receiving yards.

This offense needs its best players to elevate everyone around them.

Right now, Metcalf isn’t doing that.

And It’s Not Just Metcalf

Unfortunately, Metcalf isn’t the only concern.

Michael Pittman Jr. wasn’t available against New England, which obviously changed the complexion of the receiving corps.

That’s important context.

One of the primary reasons I expected this position group to improve in 2026 was Pittman.

The Steelers weren’t entering the season with Metcalf and then hoping somebody else emerged. They had an established veteran receiver behind him who has produced in the NFL.

On paper, Metcalf and Pittman gave Pittsburgh a legitimate No. 1 and No. 2 combination.

But availability matters.

Pittman couldn’t play Sunday, and without him the lack of dependable depth became obvious very quickly.

• Roman Wilson hasn’t developed into a receiver Pittsburgh can consistently rely upon.
• There have been issues with routes.
• There have been issues catching the football.

And at this point, the Steelers still don’t appear to know exactly what they’re going to get from him.

So take Pittman out of the lineup and what do you have?

Metcalf.

Wilson.

And then a rookie in Germie Bernard.

Somehow, Bernard might have been the most encouraging receiver on the field Sunday.

Germie Bernard Was One of the Few Bright Spots

If you’re looking for something positive from this mess, Bernard deserves some credit.

With Pittman unavailable, Bernard received a much larger opportunity. He was targeted eight times and caught four passes for 35 yards.

Those aren’t eye-popping numbers.

But watching the game, Bernard looked like someone Rodgers was beginning to trust.

• He made catches early.
• He got involved in the offense.
• And for a rookie receiving his first meaningful NFL workload, I thought he handled himself pretty well.

There was a difficult moment later in the game that contributed to a turnover, so it wasn’t perfect.

But Bernard shouldn’t be the player we’re talking about as potentially Pittsburgh’s most dependable wide receiver after a game like this.

He’s a rookie.

The Steelers should be able to view whatever Bernard provides this season as a bonus.

Instead, after two weeks, we’re looking at him and wondering whether he deserves an even larger role because some of the veterans ahead of him aren’t getting the job done.

That’s not how this was supposed to go.

This Was Supposed to Be Better Than 2025

That’s what I keep coming back to.

I didn’t expect the Steelers to have the best receiving corps in football this season.

But I absolutely expected it to be noticeably better than last year.

That felt like one of the easier projections to make about this team.

• You had Metcalf.
• You added Pittman.
• You hoped another year of development would help Wilson.
• You drafted Bernard.

There was more experience, more depth and, theoretically, more talent.

And the change to Mike McCarthy’s offense seemed like it should help everyone.

One of the things I was excited to see from McCarthy was an offense that could spread the football around and attack different areas of the field rather than becoming overly dependent on one player.

Instead, through two games, we’re watching another Steelers offense where you’re asking the same question:

Who can the quarterback actually trust?

That’s a question I didn’t expect to be asking this early.

Rodgers Needs Someone to Help Him

I’m not absolving Aaron Rodgers of everything.

He hasn’t played perfect football.

But through two games, I don’t think quarterback has been Pittsburgh’s biggest offensive problem. Not even close.

• Rodgers can’t block for himself.
• He can’t create his own running game.
• And he can’t throw the ball and then run downfield and catch it, too.

There have been plays available in the passing game that Pittsburgh simply hasn’t finished.

That’s where the receivers have to help their quarterback.

And let’s be honest, we all knew what the Steelers had at the QB position coming into the season. It’s not Aaron Rodgers in his prime. It’s Aaron Rodgers at 42 years old, who can absolutely still spin it, but whose also extremely limited in terms of mobility and durability.

At best, he’s probably a top 15 QB. But to be at his best, he needs a lot of help.

• Metcalf needs to make routine catches.
• Pittman needs to get healthy and become the dependable second option Pittsburgh expected when it acquired him.
• Wilson needs to prove he can execute consistently enough to earn Rodgers’ trust.
• And Bernard needs to continue building on the encouraging things he showed against New England.

Because right now, Pittsburgh doesn’t have anything resembling a dependable pecking order at wide receiver.

The Steelers Need Metcalf to Be Their No. 1

Ultimately, though, this comes back to Metcalf.

He’s the star.

He’s the highest-paid player in the room.

He’s supposed to be the guy Pittsburgh can turn to when everything else is breaking down.

And right now, he’s not playing like it.

That’s what has to change first.

I’m not worried about whether Metcalf suddenly lost his physical ability. We know how talented he is. We know how explosive he can be. We’ve watched him make difficult catches throughout his NFL career.

This looks much more like a player who needs to get out of his own head and start playing confidently again.

But however it happens, Pittsburgh needs it to happen quickly.

Because the Steelers already have enough problems on offense without their most accomplished wide receiver becoming another one.

• The offensive line can’t consistently block.
• The running game isn’t giving the offense enough.
• Pittman wasn’t healthy enough to play against New England.
• Wilson hasn’t established himself as a reliable option.

And somehow a rookie, Germie Bernard, was one of the few receivers who provided any reason for optimism Sunday.

Wide receiver was supposed to be better in 2026.

Through two games, it isn’t.

And unless Metcalf starts playing like the No. 1 receiver the Steelers are paying him to be, a position that looked like an offseason upgrade could quickly become one of the biggest problems on Pittsburgh’s roster.