Behind the Steel Curtain
There are few Pittsburgh Steelers with more to prove in 2026 than wide receiver DK Metcalf. The former Pro Bowler is currently the sixth-highest paid receiver in terms of yearly money, yet his production in 2025 didn’t come close to backing up his contract.
Metcalf caught just 59 passes in 2025 on 99 targets in 2025, and is 1.98 yards per route run was tied for 23rd in the league (min. 50 routes run). His performances were also very hit or miss. As Bill Barnwell of ESPN points out, Metcalf had four games of 85+ receiving yards, while the remainder of his games played all saw him total less than 55 yards.
With that in mind, Joey Bray and myself discussed Metcalf’s placement in the 2026 hierarchy of wide receivers on the latest episode of Steelers Central and came up with respective lists of pass-catchers we would take ahead of Metcalf.
After going team-by-team, I came away with 22 receivers I would take before Metcalf. Those players, in no particular order, are as follows:
I slotted Metcalf in at 23rd, just ahead of other names such as Tee Higgins, Jakobi Meyers, and Rashee Rice. Joey, on the other hand, ranked Rice ahead of Metcalf, while also putting Jameson Williams and Alec Pierce in front of him, giving Metcalf a ranking of 26th – one spot ahead of Higgins. I’ll let Joey weigh in with his thoughts on the exercise:
Joey Bray: Jarrett and I used Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins as the “Metcalf line.” While neither of us would take Higgins over Metcalf, he felt like someone who has a similar skill set and should be ranked back-to-back with the Steelers wideout. I don’t think a lot of these guys need explanations as to why I ranked them above Metcalf, but I will try to walk you through my thought process for some of the ones that you might disagree with.
There are certainly some names on here that are arguable and very close to Metcalf overall. Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams, in particular, is an interesting case to me. Williams has recorded 123 receptions in his last two seasons, while Metcalf has recorded 125. Metcalf has not reached over one thousand yards in the last two seasons, although recording a close 992 in 2024, while Williams has recorded at least one thousand in consecutive years. Williams is classified as more of a downfield threat gadget guy to most, but I value the speed and separation ability coupled with the production that Williams has posted over Metcalf.
***Situation and context matter...
