The acquisition of Jonnu Smith gives the Steelers another legitimate pass catcher in the offense. His 88 catches and 884 receiving yards ranked fourth among all tight ends last season, and his eight touchdown receptions were second to only Mark Andrews.

But, does adding Smith alleviate the need to add another wide receiver to the mix?

When Arthur Smith ran his best offense, the 2020 Titans, they tied for the league lead in 12 personnel usage at 35%. Having two legitimate pass-catching tight ends, Smith and the incumbent Pat Freiermuth, I'd expect the Steelers to be among the league leaders in such usage in 2025.

However, there's a good chance neither tight end will see as many targets as they saw last season. Smith was targeted 111 times with the Dolphins last year and Freiermuth was targeted 78 times, totaling 189 targets. Looking at the 2024 Steelers and the players that have departed such as George Pickens, Najee Harris, Van Jefferson, Mike Williams, MyCole Pruitt and I'll even throw in Cordarrelle Patterson, who likely won't be on the 53-man roster, the team has 228 targets to replace.

Of course, that number doesn't have to be fixed. The Steelers could very well want to throw the ball more often than they did a season ago, especially now that Aaron Rodgers is their quarterback.

But just using that number, DK Metcalf will likely eat up about half of those targets. He had 108 targets last season playing in 15 games, and he's averaged 121 targets per season throughout his six-year NFL career. He's the team's bonafide No. 1 guy, and Rodgers will throw to him a ton.

Just between Metcalf and Smith, their target share from last season would exceed the void left by those who will play elsewhere in 2025. That leaves no targets for anyone else. And as much as Arthur Smith loves to use tight ends, they've never dominated the target share.

In the 2020 Titans offense, Arthur Smith's most accomplished unit, wide receivers drew 247 targets, tight ends and fullbacks drew 131 targets and running backs drew just 53 targets. However, the 2024 Steelers were a tad different, with wide receivers drawing 229 targets, tight ends and fullbacks drawing 121 targets and running backs drawing 109 targets.

Factoring in the Steelers' collection of running backs, especially Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, a good amount of targets will go to running backs. Between Harris and Patterson, there are 62 targets to divvy up.

However, some of those could go to tight ends. Among quarterbacks that logged snaps in at least 10 games, Justin Fields led the league in checkdown percentage (14.9%) and Russell Wilson had the fourth-highest at 11.3%. Rodgers ranked 11th at 9.1% behind a worse offensive line. He'd much prefer to get the ball out in the quick game, in which tight ends can be utilized much more often. 

One thing the Steelers could do is use tight ends in the slot much more often, regardless of whether or not they add another receiver. The Ravens do this a ton with their two-headed monster at tight end in Andrews and Isaiah Likely. In fact, Andrews lined up in the slot 60.9% of the time and Likely lined up the slot 53.8% of the time last season.

The majority of Freiermuth's snaps came in the slot at a rate of 54.4% last season. With the Dolphins, Smith was in the slot 46% of the time. However, with the Falcons under Arthur Smith in 2023, Smith was in the slot 52.8% of the time. 

Arthur Smith has either had his passing game revolve around two good wide receivers and one tight end or one good wide receiver and multiple tight ends. With the Titans, he had A.J. Brown and Corey Davis at receiver while Smith was his primary tight end. In Atlanta, Drake London was the top receiver while Kyle Pitts, Smith and other tight ends were heavily used. The better offense was undoubtedly the two Titans offenses he coached.

If Omar Khan is able to add another wide receiver, this might be the first time Smith has the ability to combine the two. Should the Steelers eventually sign Gabe Davis or add another WR2-type that can line up on the outside the majority of the time, Smith's playbook will be wide open. He can use 12 personnel at a high rate, putting a tight end in the slot as often as he wants. That makes them flexible to run the ball or take advantage of mismatches against base defenses.

However, not even Smith can line up out wide on a consistent basis. That's what the Steelers still really need. Calvin Austin III would be the next closest candidate right now, but he lined up in the slot 62.3% of the time last year. In Arthur Smith's ideal offense, Austin would be his slot receiver in 11 personnel. That doesn't solve the true WR2 position.

Even though the Steelers ranked 26th in 11 personnel usage, it still dominated the team's overall usage at 51.06%. Even Arthur Smith's 2020 Titans used 11 personnel more often (38%) than 12 personnel (35%). And, nothing against the collection of running backs, but they do not equal to Derrick Henry.

So, yes, adding Smith to the mix makes the Steelers more dangerous in any personnel that uses multiple tight ends. But, it doesn't alleviate the need for another wide receiver that can consistently line up on the outside and provide worthwhile targets there. If they rely on Austin or Robert Woods to provide that, it could keep this offense handcuffed. Roman Wilson shouldn't be relied on for that, either, as he was primarily a slot receiver in college.

But, even an addition of Davis can help unlock everything, giving the offense much needed flexibility to do just about anything in any personnel.