The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to be very interested in numerous wide receiver options during free agency. The team only has three wideouts currently under contract for the 2026 season, and only one of them saw significant snaps on offense in 2025. DK Metcalf showed that he can't carry the position by himself, and he needs some help from another high-quality receiver. Pittsburgh is also expected to invest significant draft capital to address that position as well, which could mean a massive trade-up in the first round.
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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf (4) during a regular season game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland.
Seth Walder of ESPN recently made a list of pending free agents that are underrated and overrated. One of those options was wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson due to his improvement, but the analyst also mentioned that the pass-catcher's reputation may scare some receiver-needy teams away from picking him up, like the Steelers.
"I think [Wan'Dale] Robinson will get a decent haul in free agency, but perhaps not as much as he should thanks to the reputation -- built over the first three seasons of his career -- that he's just a short-area slot receiver," Walder said.
Robinson's first three seasons in the NFL were definitely rough in the yards per reception (YPC) category. As his targets skyrocketed, his YPC went down. In 2024, he had 7.5 YPC on 92 catches. A normal receiver would have over 1,000 yards on the year with that number of receptions, but he was just shy of 700. Even though that was two seasons ago, that may make General Manager Omar Khan think twice about paying him.
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Steelers general manager Omar Khan looks on from sidelines before 2023 NFL preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, Robinson's 2025 was significantly better, as he had 11 YPC on 92 catches to rack up 1,014 yards on the season. He was still not a big-play threat, especially with his measly four touchdowns, but he definitely did perform a lot better than expected. A 3.5 YPC bump in a season will make any team take notice, as that is truly significant. On the other hand, it also raises a bunch of questions and concerns about sustainability.
As mentioned, Robinson had the reputation of a short-yardage receiver, and he suddenly had one amazing season. Teams have to figure out if that is a fluke campaign or if that's what he truly is. Fourth-year jumps like that are very rare for a wide receiver, so giving him a high-dollar long-term deal would be a massive risk, no matter what the analytics from that great season say teams should do in free agency.
Steelers May Quickly Lose Interest In Signing Robinson
One major factor in this jump was the fact that Malik Nabers suffered a season-ending injury early in 2025, which made Robinson the de facto top option. That begs the question of how many NFL teams will make him their top receiver option in free agency? Can he keep that up when he goes back to being a secondary option in the passing game? The Steelers have Metcalf as their top wideout anyways. Pittsburgh doesn't need a supposed short-range option behind him.
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Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL Regular Season.
As cruel as that sounds, that's how NFL teams will negotiate when they talk to Robinson's agent. They will do anything they can to lower the salary that they will pay him, while also trying to get him signed to their team in the first place. If multiple front offices have a strong interest in him, that could potentially raise his value and get him paid, but the Steelers don't do bidding wars, so they're likely out if that happens.
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