Jason Mackey: Steelers need wide receiver help, but fixing the problem comes with complications

Jason Mackey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

INDIANAPOLIS — There has certainly been an attempt. However, the greater issue for the Steelers has been the number of targets for wide receivers not named George Pickens.

After an apparent breakthrough last week against the Chargers, it turns out the collective performance of Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller may have been nothing more than a mirage.

With those three targeted just four times (and catching three passes for 38 yards) in Pittsburgh’s 27-24 loss to the Colts on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, it renewed concerns regarding what the Steelers are getting from this group.

It hasn’t been enough — or as consistent as it needs to be — if the Steelers want to have a playoff-caliber offense.

Through four games, those three have been targeted just 20 times, catching 14 passes for 192 yards (which includes 95 from Austin a week ago at Acrisure Stadium).

Pickens, by comparison, has been targeted 29 times, catching 20 balls for 284 yards. The entire group has just one touchdown (Austin).

It was actually surprising Justin Fields managed to throw for 312 yards against the Colts with the other wide receivers accounting for so little. Pat Freiermuth finished with 57 receiving yards, Najee Harris 54, Darnell Washington 31 and Cordarrelle Patterson 19.

If no fix is found, teams will continue to do everything possible to bottle up Pickens, daring the other three to beat them, which is why I’d love for the Steelers to break character and swing a midseason trade.

DeAndre Hopkins (Titans), Christian Kirk (Jaguars) and Davante Adams (Raiders) have all been linked to the Steelers in recent weeks and would represent gigantic upgrades.

My concern there wouldn’t be so much acquisition cost but whether the Steelers (with $10.6 million in available space, per OverTheCap.com) could do enough to fit them under the salary cap.

Along with offseason darlings Brandon Aiyuk of the 49ers, DK Metcalf of the Seahawks and Courtland Sutton of the Broncos, the Steelers seemingly know there’s a need. But as the Titans and Jaguars (combined 0-7) look like clear sellers, the Steelers surely won’t be the only interested team.

The other potential solution — albeit a much less exciting one — comes from internal improvement or using the guys they have differently.

In addition to the aforementioned three, the Steelers will at some point have third-round pick Roman Wilson to deploy, but he has not yet proven himself worthy of getting a helmet on Sundays.

The Steelers need Wilson to progress quickly, while they could also stand for Jefferson, Austin or Miller to give them more.

However it happens, the modest production from the supporting cast around Pickens simply can’t continue.

Better starts

As the Steelers comb through the Colts performance and evaluate ways to get better, there’s another sizable thing that must be fixed: the slow starts.

In four first quarters thus far, the Steelers have scored just 10 points. Their two drives in the opening 15 minutes against Indianapolis netted just a pair of first downs … and one of them came on a gift of a roughing-the-passer penalty on Colts defense end Isaiah Land for his (perfectly legal) hit on Justin Fields.

“We have to execute,” Harris said of the Steelers' slow start and rushing for just 67 yards before halftime on Sunday. At one point, the Colts had a 180-38 edge in total yards.

“They’re going to come out in certain defenses to stop the run. We know that. We have to execute it. Second half, we did better.”

Talking about practice

The poor performance of the Steelers defense — 27 points and 358 yards allowed after averaging just 8.7 and 229 through three weeks — did not come as a total surprise to safety DeShon Elliott, who led the Steelers with 12 total tackles, including eight solo stops.

Elliott criticized the Steelers’ focus in practice last week while preparing to face the Colts, saying it needs to improve this week before the Cowboys come to town for a Sunday night game at Acrisure Stadium.

“We need to work harder at practice, in my opinion,” Elliott said. “We’ll be alright.

“There are certain things we can be better at. If we want to be a great defense, it starts in practice.”

I love the accountability and veteran-ness of something like that. Elliott has been a terrific fit for the Steelers.

In a perfect world …

The idea of adding Sutton, Hopkins or Kirk really does intrigue me. And I’m not sure I’d have a huge preference among the three.

Sutton caught three passes for 60 yards and a touchdown Sunday. He’s a year removed from a 10-touchdown season with the Broncos and has averaged 14.2 yards per reception throughout his career. He’s a big body (6-4, 216), and there’s certainly big-play ability there.

Hopkins is a five-time Pro Bowler with seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume. At 32, he’s not what he was in his prime. However, he’d seemingly be an impactful veteran, perhaps a mentor to Pickens, and he can obviously still produce.

Kirk is just 27 and went for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns two years ago in his first season with the Jaguars.