Steelers, 49ers named potential trade suitors for embattled former 1st-round wide receiver

Mike Moraitis

Steelers, 49ers named potential trade suitors for embattled former 1st-round wide receiver image

When you think about teams that need wide receiver help, the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers are two that come to mind.

The Steelers don't have a true No. 2 wide receiver. Pittsburgh acquired DK Metcalf in a trade during the offseason but unloaded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, which left the team with guys like Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin as the top No. 2 options on the roster.

However, Wilson has barely existed over the first two weeks of the season and Austin had just one catch for 22 yards in Week 2 and remains someone who is better suited as a No. 3 option in a passing attack.

In San Francisco, there's no telling when Brandon Aiyuk will come back from injury, Jauan Jennings is banged-up and unproven second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall is the team's best wideout if Jennings isn't on the field.

Knowing all that, it's no surprise that the Steelers and 49ers were named possible trade suitors for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette, who Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox thinks could get moved at some point this year.

While Legette's tape isn't great, he's still a physically gifted 6'3", 227-pound pass-catcher who was highly regarded entering the 2024 draft—he was the 71st-ranked prospect on the B/R Scouting Department's final draft board.

Adding Legette would be a risk-reward move that could make a lot of sense for teams with questionable receiver depth. A third-round pick that could become a second based on statistical production would be a fair asking price for Carolina.

Potential Suitors: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers

Legette has been woefully disappointing over a season-plus in the NFL. The former first-round pick finished his rookie campaign with just 49 catches for 497 yards and is off to a slow start in 2025 with four catches for eight yards.

Despite the lackluster start to his career, Legette is still just 24 years old and teams are likely to have interest in scooping him up as a reclamation project, especially if he's cheap.

Knox estimates he'll cost a third-round pick, but that's too much for a player who has yet to show us much in the NFL. Instead, we'd project Legette's value to be a fifth-round pick.

But, at that price, the Panthers would probably just prefer to hold on to Legette to see if he can right the ship. Not to mention, with Carolina's No. 1 goal being to get Bryce Young going, the Panthers might be hesitant to unload any of their receivers.

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Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for the Sporting News. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided. He hates writing in the third person.