Column | Omar Khan better have something big up his sleeve

Not much has changed in this year’s Steelers offense. Despite an entirely new quarterback room and a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, the offense is still relying on the same principles of the last four years — defense, running the ball and winning the turnover and time of possession metrics. 

In essence, try not to lose the game. 

When that plan goes perfectly, you have what happened last Sunday — the Steelers scoring a season-high 32 points and routing the Raiders in Las Vegas. 

But more often than not, this mantra fails, and the best the Steelers can hope for is a one-score win. They hit the jackpot in Vegas. That kind of luck won’t happen again. As the season goes on, Pittsburgh’s offense will have to carry the load in at least a few games, something they are largely unequipped to do no matter who is under center.

Behind George Pickens, the Steelers have no talent worthy enough of the WR2 label. Calvin Austin is doing what he can to fill that role, but it’s evident that they need another big-name receiver. 

This is an issue that Steelers general manager Omar Khan created for himself. After trading Diontae Johnson to Carolina, Khan heavily pursued disgruntled wideout Brandon Aiyuk from San Francisco. Aiyuk was in need of a new contract, and talks between him and the 49ers were stalling. Khan made an aggressive push to swing a trade for Aiyuk, and it was reported that the deal was at the goal line at least ten times. 

Khan had put all of his eggs into the Aiyuk basket, believing that if he just waited them out long enough, he could pull the trigger on a trade with the 49ers. 

In the end, Aiyuk was only entertaining Khan’s offer to use as leverage against the 49ers, and when San Francisco called his bluff and had a trade ready to go, Aiyuk caved and re-signed in the Bay Area. 

Now, the Steelers have finished in second place again in a different wide receiver sweepstakes, losing out on Davante Adams. 

Adams made it clear he wanted out of Las Vegas. The wide receiver had expressed discontent with the way the Raiders organization was trending, and the team seemed to have an equal interest in moving on from this failed relationship. 

Though the New York Jets, where Adams could reunite with Aaron Rodgers, were correctly reported as his preferred destination, Pittsburgh was still a contender in the wide receiver sweepstakes. 

The original reported asking price for Adams was a second rounder and an additional late round pick, which made some Steelers fans tense up. On Tuesday, the New York Jets busted that price up, getting a deal done with the Raiders that only saw them give Las Vegas a conditional third-round pick. 

For that low of a price, to help fix a wide receiver room this bad, it’s a tough pill to swallow that the Steelers couldn’t get any deal done. Either receiver would have been a godsend to the team, considering the current state of their wide receiver room. 

Wideouts not-named Pickens have a combined 269 yards through week six this season. By comparison, Aiyuk has 351 alone, and Adams has 209 in half as many games with subpar quarterback play. 

For better or worse, Austin has been pigeonholed as the second wide receiver on the team. He has blossomed into a big component of this year’s offense, getting the second most targets of any wideout. But his unique skill set is shining in part because he is in a receiver corps that is uninspiring at best. He is not equipped to be a WR2. Not yet, anyways. 

If Pickens goes down with any kind of injury, or his immaturity issues take him out of play, the Steelers have no passing game whatsoever. 

The Steelers haven’t made a blockbuster in-season trade since 2019, when the team sent off a first-round pick to acquire star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The time has come to get bold once again. 

There are still other options out there for Pittsburgh. DeAndre Hopkins will continue as a popular name for the Steelers as the trade deadline gets closer, but names like Darius Slayton from the New York Giants (2-4) and Cooper Kupp from the Los Angeles Rams (1-4) are two players who fit the bill of a big splash trade if either team decides they need to sell. 

Whoever Khan brings in needs to actually make a big-time impact on the Steelers’ offense. The team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016, and it’s beyond time for some urgency.