Steelers' Latest Receiver Puzzle Has A Perfect Answer In Jacksonville

The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent an entire offseason making their wide receiver room deeper, more versatile and considerably less dependent on one player. Matt Williamson can still imagine one addition that would rearrange the entire thing. The catch is fairly substantial: the player he wants is 23 years old, already starts for the Jacksonville Jaguars and has given his current club virtually no obvious reason to move him.

Brian Thomas Jr. is Williamson's dream fit. Jacksonville selected him 23rd overall in 2024, and he immediately looked considerably more expensive than that draft slot, catching 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. His production fell to 48 receptions, 707 yards and two scores during an injury-shortened 2025 campaign, but Thomas remains a starting outside receiver and has drawn positive reviews throughout Jaguars camp this summer.

Pittsburgh does not exactly have tumbleweeds blowing through its receiver meeting room. DK Metcalf remains the established vertical threat, Michael Pittman Jr. gives the offense a large, physical target underneath, and rookie Germie Bernard has increasingly looked capable of settling into the third spot. Roman Wilson provides another movable option behind them. Pittsburgh's current depth chart still reflects a room with legitimate NFL talent before any fantasy shopping begins.

Williamson's point is less about desperation than geometry. Thomas would give the Steelers another true perimeter weapon who can stay outside, stretch the field and win above defenders, allowing Pittsburgh's other pass-catchers to settle into roles better suited to their strengths. During a recent episode of SNR Drive, Williamson explained why Thomas would simplify the entire receiving corps.

“Somebody like Thomas would let everybody fall right into place because he’s not going to be in the slot at all. He’s going to be running deep and going up and getting it. He’s the exact style I would love to get, but he ain’t going to be cheap,” Williamson said.

There is plenty of football logic behind the idea. Thomas is 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds with enough speed to threaten a corner vertically without needing endless motion or manufactured releases. That would allow Mike McCarthy to keep Pittman working through the areas where his size and physicality become most useful, while Bernard and Wilson could move around the formation rather than being forced into one permanent outside assignment.

Metcalf would benefit, too. Defenses spent much of 2025 devoting extra resources toward Pittsburgh's top wideout because the supporting cast rarely punished them consistently enough elsewhere. Adding another legitimate vertical problem on the opposite side would make those tilted coverages much harder to justify. A defensive coordinator can double one enormous receiver. Doubling two starts to look like a staffing shortage.

Thomas also comes with the kind of ceiling that makes Williamson willing to entertain a much more aggressive claim.

“He’d be a phenomenal addition… It’s probably overkill, you know, like he would take it from being a still kind of a question mark group to, hey, maybe that’s one of the better groups in the league because he could be better than DK. He could be your number one when it’s all said and done,” Williamson said.

Calling Thomas a potential future No. 1 is not especially difficult after his rookie season. He finished third in the entire NFL in receiving yards in 2024 and earned a Pro Bowl selection while setting Jacksonville rookie records for catches, yards and touchdowns. The sophomore regression changed the trajectory slightly, but it did not remove the physical traits that produced one of the best rookie receiving seasons of the modern era.

The problem is getting him out of Jacksonville. There is no current report that the Jaguars are shopping Thomas, and Williamson was discussing an ideal fit rather than reporting Pittsburgh trade talks. Jacksonville's latest depth chart lists Thomas as a starter, while the organization's own camp coverage has highlighted his growing chemistry and strong summer. This is not a disgruntled veteran buried behind three younger players waiting for a change of scenery.

His contract only makes Jacksonville's incentive to keep him stronger. Thomas is entering Year 3 of a rookie deal after being selected in the first round, giving the Jaguars multiple seasons of inexpensive control compared with what established star receivers command. Any trade discussion would therefore begin with Pittsburgh paying for talent, youth and contract value simultaneously.

Thomas has already appeared in Steelers trade speculation before, but the circumstances remain difficult. Pittsburgh could love the player without Jacksonville loving the idea of helping.

Steelers Would Turn A Good Room Into Something Much Scarier

Williamson is not arguing Pittsburgh's current collection is bad. His point works precisely because the Steelers have already done enough that Thomas would be a luxury capable of changing everyone's job rather than a rescue mission.

Metcalf would no longer need to carry the vertical burden alone. Pittman could remain a physical intermediate target. Bernard's rookie development could continue without demanding that he become a full-time boundary receiver immediately, while Wilson could concentrate on the versatile inside-out role the coaching staff has been building for him. That version of Pittsburgh's passing attack would have very few obvious places for a defense to hide coverage help.

The price would almost certainly be painful if Jacksonville ever listened, and there is currently no indication it intends to. Williamson acknowledged that reality himself. Young receivers with Thomas' résumé, athletic profile and contractual control usually do not reach the clearance rack.

Still, the fit is easy to understand. Pittsburgh has spent months trying to make every receiver versatile enough to move around McCarthy's offense. Thomas would provide something different by being exceptionally valuable without needing to move much at all.

Sometimes the missing puzzle piece is complicated. This one just happens to belong to somebody else.

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