The Pittsburgh Steelers may be in first place in the AFC North, but they aren’t taking it easy.
On Tuesday, the Steelers made moves to strengthen their roster by adding wide receiver Mike Williams and outside linebacker Preston Smith at the trade deadline. These moves bring in veteran depth at positions where the team had needs, as they prepare for the second half of the season.
Pittsburgh traded a fifth-round pick to the New York Jets for Williams and a seventh-round pick to Green Bay for Smith.
With a 6-2 record, the Steelers are coming off their bye week and sitting atop the AFC North. However, they are set to face a tough second half of the season, starting this Sunday with a game against the surprising NFC East-leading Washington Commanders (7-2).
By acquiring Williams, the Steelers add a proven outside receiving threat to pair with George Pickens. Pittsburgh has talent at outside linebacker but has been thin in depth. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are considered one of the best linebacker tandems in the league, but backup Nick Herbig has struggled with a hamstring injury.
On Tuesday, Coach Mike Tomlin mentioned that Herbig could be ready for the game against Washington.
The Steelers have been looking for a big target to complement Pickens since trading Diontae Johnson to Carolina last spring. They showed interest in Brandon Aiyuk but were unable to land him, as Aiyuk chose to re-sign with San Francisco.
They also watched other top receivers, like Davante Adams (Jets) and DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs), move to other AFC teams.
Williams, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Jets in the offseason, has had limited success this season. He caught just 12 passes for 166 yards in nine games with New York and had only one 6-yard reception on two targets in his last two games.
Standing at 6-foot-4, Williams spent the first seven years of his career with the Chargers, where he caught 309 passes for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns. Last year, he tore his ACL in Week 3 and missed the remainder of the season.
The Jets took their time bringing him along during the offseason and training camp, but he struggled to find chemistry with quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he was on the field.
Williams joins a team that has seen improvement in its passing game since Russell Wilson returned from a calf injury that caused him to miss the first six games of the season.
While Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III have had some strong plays since Wilson’s return, Williams’ size adds another big target for the Steelers to use in the red zone, along with the 6-3 George Pickens and 6-5 tight end Pat Freiermuth.
Before bringing in Williams, coach Mike Tomlin made sure to praise the wide receivers as a group.
“I just feel like we have a group that’s hardworking and capable and can’t wait to show the football world those capabilities,” Tomlin said. “And every time we step into a stadium, they get an opportunity to do so. And you (have) seen some examples of it already.”
However, the Steelers have not yet seen enough from the group to avoid looking for an upgrade, as the team works to end a playoff victory drought that dates back to the 2016 AFC Championship game.
Pittsburgh has been more aggressive than usual in trying to improve its offense over the past year, moving on from quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph, while bringing in Wilson and Justin Fields.
The results have been decent, though not always impressive. The Steelers are currently ranked 13th in scoring, a significant improvement from last year, when they finished 28th.
There are still big challenges ahead for the Steelers. They will face all three of their AFC North rivals twice in the final nine weeks of the season, along with games against Washington, Philadelphia, and Kansas City.
Coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged that the team was active in the trade market, calling it a smart move for a team that wants to be a “world championship outfit.”
Pittsburgh’s defense is one of the best in the league — they are second in points allowed and ninth in yards allowed. However, their pass rush hasn’t been as dominant as it has been in past years, partly because opponents have been getting the ball out faster.
T.J. Watt has 6 1/2 of Pittsburgh’s 19 sacks, which is a bit lower than usual. However, Alex Highsmith missed three games with a groin injury, and Nick Herbig hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring on October 6 against Dallas.
Preston Smith has seen less playing time in his 10th season after the Packers switched to a 4-3 defense.
The 31-year-old has 2 1/2 sacks and six tackles for Green Bay and played just 36% of the snaps against Detroit on Sunday. Throughout his career with both the Commanders and Packers, Smith has been productive, with 68 1/2 sacks in 155 games.
