Wilson Simons Blog Posts

The Steelers need a receiver, and Brian Thomas Jr. might be the perfect buy-low trade By Wilson Simons      If someone were to put a gun to my head and ask me to name the Steelers’ third wide receiver behind DK Metcalf and Germie Bernard. My last words would be a very unconfident “Kaden Wetjen?”      That’s where the Steelers are right now. Michael Pittman Jr. went on injured reserve on Oct. 10 with a foot injury. Roman Wilson followed him a week later with a broken finger, and the earliest he can come back is Week 11. Ben Skowronek is out with a calf injury. Against Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh had to elevate two receivers off the practice squad just to field a full room.      So when ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday that several teams believe the Jaguars could trade Brian Thomas Jr. before the Nov. 10 deadline, and named the Chiefs and Steelers as potential suitors, my ears perked up.      Steelers fans have been thinking abou...

Steelers vs. Saints preview: Paris is the trap, not the Saints By Wilson Simons      On paper, this one shouldn’t be close. The Steelers (4-2) are coming off back-to-back wins, the Saints (2-4) have one of the worst defenses in football, and Pittsburgh might get its best safety back for the first time in about a year. That’s exactly why it scares me.      Sunday’s game at Stade de France kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET, the first regular-season NFL game ever played in Paris. The bigger story out of Pittsburgh this week hasn’t been the Saints. It’s been the travel.      The Steelers didn’t leave until Thursday night, took a red-eye and landed in Paris on Friday morning. The Saints left on Monday night and were there by Tuesday. Aaron Rodgers made it pretty clear what he thought about that. He said the Steelers have left on a Thursday evening for all three of his international games, and that it would’ve been nice to come over on a Monday just o...

Steelers win wild overtime game in Tampa behind rookie wide receivers breakout game      By: Wilson Simons      The Steelers spent three quarters getting outplayed by a 1-4 team with an undrafted rookie quarterback. Then their coach nearly threw the game away in the final two minutes. They won anyway, pulling off their largest fourth-quarter comeback since 1992, per the broadcast.      Ramsey sacked Daniels on the opening drive, and a 28-yard shank of a punt gave the Steelers the ball at the Tampa 45. They went three-and-out, and the first half went downhill from there. Rodgers threw a tipped screen that was intercepted. Kaden Wetjen’s return to the Tampa 40 got wiped out by two special teams penalties. And on fourth-and-3, Bernard caught a ball past the sticks, then backpedaled like Diontae Johnson and was ruled short. That’s the kind of rookie mistake that has Omar Khan calling about every receiver on the trade block.      Da...

Steelers @ Buccaneers Week 6 Preview  By: Wilson Simons The Buccaneers are 1-4 but that one win came last week in an upset win over the Dallas Cowboys.  Pittsburgh (3-2) heads to Tampa Bay at 1 p.m. ET Sunday coming off a 34-22 win over the Colts, but it's taking a receiver room held together with cardboard. Michael Pittman Jr. is on injured reserve. Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek are both out. And on Friday, DK Metcalf showed up on the injury report with an illness, missed practice, and is now questionable. If Metcalf can't go, rookies Germie Bernard and Kaden Wetjen are the only healthy wide receivers on the 53-man roster. Bernard has been the unofficial WR1 in my eyes based on how many targets he’s had over the last few weeks of the season. But I'd expect Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington to handle most of the receiving work instead, along with Jaylen Warren, who already leads the team in receiving. That's great for my fantasy team. It's not great when your...

Why Rico Dowdle’s return is good for Jaylen Warren, even if it doesn’t feel like it By Wilson Simons      Over the last three games, Steelers running back Jaylen Warren turned 61 touches into 490 yards from scrimmage. Against the Colts on Sunday, he put up a career-best 188 scrimmage yards, scored on an 80-yard catch and a 50-yard run, and became just the sixth player in NFL history with both in the same game. The list includes Jim Brown and Gale Sayers, and nobody had done it since Herschel Walker in 1986. Mike McCarthy called him "the man." Steelers insider Mark Kaboly said the team "can't have any semblance of a run share" once Rico Dowdle comes back.      I get it. When a guy is playing like this, the instinct is to keep feeding him. But with Dowdle expected back this week against Tampa Bay, I'm going to say the unpopular thing: splitting the backfield again is the right call. Not because Warren isn't good enough, but because he's 5-foot-8.  ...

Jaylen Warren's historic performance powers Steelers past Colts 34-22     By Wilson Simons      Jaylen Warren spent the first four weeks of the season being the best player on the Steelers’ offense without a single touchdown to show for it. On Sunday, he made up for lost time.      Warren scored on an 80-yard catch and a 50-yard run, and the Steelers’ defense held Jonathan Taylor in check without Derrick Harmon in a 34-22 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh moves to 3-2.      It didn’t start pretty. The Steelers went three-and-out on the opening drive, with Aaron Rodgers starting 3-for-3 for minus-5 yards, and the Colts drilled a 58-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. It was the second-longest field goal in Acrisure Stadium history.      Warren answered on the very next play. Rodgers dumped a check-down to him, and Warren went 80 yards for his first ...