Ray Fittipaldo: What does the addition of Michael Pittman Jr. mean to Steelers' WR corps?

Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar 11, 2026

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — When Mike McCarthy beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, he had Aaron Rodgers in his prime and a quartet of receivers who each had 500 or more yards receiving. There were no future Hall of Famers in the group, just a group of talented players who complemented each other.

Greg Jennings was the Packers’ only 1,000-yard receiver in 2010 with 1,265, but James Jones (679), Jordy Nelson (582) and Donald Driver (565) were big contributors to the offense.

When McCarthy took over as Steelers head coach in January, he knew rebuilding the receiving corps was going to be one of his first big jobs. On Monday, general manager Omar Khan took the first step toward rebuilding the position when he acquired veteran Michael Pittman Jr. in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts.

Pittman gives the Steelers a quality starter opposite DK Metcalf and a strong option on third downs. Pittman is a big receiver who will go over the middle and make tough catches in traffic, something the Steelers were missing in the 2025 season.

McCarthy was at his best in Green Bay when he had a plethora of receivers to run his offense, so don’t be surprised if receiver remains the No. 1 priority next month in the draft.

In 2011, the Packers went 15-1 in the regular season. That version of the Packers offense had five receivers with 375 yards or more with Randall Cobb joining the party as a rookie.

“We were at our best in Green Bay, the Jordy Nelson era, because all those guys worked so well together,” McCarthy said. “This game is about matchups. Your ability to put your third receiver on the third corner. Hopefully that’s a favorable matchup, or move those guys around. You want your receivers to be able to play all three positions.”

McCarthy’s receivers came in all shapes and sizes over his long NFL coaching career. His best teams had receivers who could move inside and outside, from one side of the formation to the other, to help create favorable matchups for his quarterbacks.

“You want your receivers to be able to play all three positions,” McCarthy said. “When you can have the flexibility of that, that goes back to the first statement about making a quarterback successful, because the quarterbacks are trained in conceptual development of how you throw the football. So that helps you with your footwork training, but if you have 900 plays just to beat every defense, that’s very difficult on a quarterback. So if you truly want to play to the rhythm and the time of a quarterback, your perimeter guys being able to play multiple positions is very important. So that will be our approach with these guys.”

That’s one hint on how Pittman will be infused into the offense. Next comes what kind of complementary players will the Steelers try to acquire in the rest of free agency and/or the draft.

Metcalf (6 feet 4, 229 pounds) and Pittman (6-4, 223) are bigger receivers, although they have different styles. Metcalf is a fast and physical player who remains the offense’s best big-play threat. Pittman still can make some plays down the field, but he’s an excellent possession receiver.

McCarthy is familiar with big-bodied receiving corps. Nelson was 6-3 and Jones 6-1 from that Super Bowl team, but size is not a prerequisite. Many of his receivers over the years were 5-11 or under, including Jennings, Driver and Cobb.

The Steelers now could use some receivers who can uncover and get open. Anyone who watched the Steelers in the 2025 season knows their receivers had trouble doing that.

If the Steelers do not re-sign Calvin Austin III, who went unsigned on the first day of the legal tampering period, they might be in the market for a smaller receiver. There are a few of those who are late first-round or second-round options, such as Zachariah Branch of Georgia and KC Concepcion of Texas A&M. Makai Lemon, who is considered one of the top four receivers in the draft, also is 5-11, but he might not be around when the Steelers pick at No. 21.

The majority of receivers in this draft are bigger. The Steelers can’t be concerned with a type of receiver. They just have to draft the best receiver, and McCarthy will fit him into the offense. It’s their versatility that matters most, not their size.

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