Despite a star-studded roster, depth concerns at wide receiver threaten to derail the veteran quarterback’s potential return as Pittsburgh gambles on unproven rookies to bolster its offense.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has not made up his mind on whether he will return to the Pittsburgh Steelers, play for another league team, or retire from the NFL after a successful 2025 season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers appeared willing to try and land Rodgers another weapon by going for wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round of the draft. However, the Philadelphia Eagles traded up for Lemon, prompting the Steelers to add offensive tackle Max Iheanachor.
The Steelers would end up taking two receivers in the draft, Germie Bernard in the second round and Kaden Wetjen in the fourth round.
With receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman already on the roster, one would think Pittsburgh has a formidable receivers corps. However, Aaron Schatz of ESPN argued the receiver corps is the weakest part of Pittsburgh's offense.
"If we assume that Aaron Rodgers is returning to play quarterback, then Pittsburgh's two-deep depth chart is pretty solid," he wrote. "There are plenty of average players, but it's hard to find places where the Steelers need to go from bad to average.
"The biggest question might be what the Steelers will do if a receiver suffers an injury or if rookie Germie Bernard struggles. Roman Wilson barely played in his rookie season and had just 12 catches in 2025, his second season. Ben Skowronek can be a useful jack-of-all-trades but has only nine receptions over his two seasons in Pittsburgh. Fourth-round pick Kaden Wetjen is primarily a return specialist."
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy wanted to go after receivers that could do multiple things on the field. If Bernard and Wetjen can develop quickly, Pittsburgh's receiver room could become a strength on offense.
"When you have guys that are position-specific that really don't do anything else, they’ve got to be an All-Pro," McCarthy said, via ESPN. "I've always looked for diversity in a receiver.
"I like receivers that can play all three spots because I want to move the receivers around so the quarterback has the same read."
The Steelers still have questions about the offensive line and defensive line. That might be a little more pressing than the receiver corps at this point in the offseason.