The Pittsburgh Steelers failed to land a true star at the wide receiver position before the trade deadline, but there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about what Mike Williams will bring to the table.

On FS1s The facilityformer NFL receiver James Jones praised the Steelers’ move for Williams, stating that his playing style fits seamlessly with the team’s offense.

“Yes, for me it’s very, very simple,” Jones said. “Mike Tomlin has done it again. First of all, you go get Mike. Mike is probably one of the best 50-50 pass catchers we’ve seen over the last three, four years. He’s an 80-20 guy. You gets Russell Wilson. What is Russell Wilson good at? Russell Wilson is great at moonballs, putting air on these passes so his guys can go and get it (Williams) with George (Pickens), that’s going to be a problem.”

As Jones detailed, Williams made a name for himself during his eight-year career almost solely on his contested catch and jump ball skills. The 30-year-old has never been the most athletic player in the world, nor has he ever performed above average, but he has never had to excel in those areas of the game to be effective.

Williams brings career totals of 321 catches, 4,972 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns to Pittsburgh, almost all of which were members of the Los Angeles Chargers from 2017 to 2023.

The former No. 7 overall pick and Clemson product signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the New York Jets last offseason, though he managed just 12 catches and 166 yards in nine games with the team.

New York, as a result, deemed him expendable and sent him to the Steelers for a 2025 fifth-round pick.

Now, Williams should almost immediately step into a major role for Pittsburgh as the team’s likely No. 2 receiver opposite Pickens. He spoke at length about his excitement at the chance to play alongside him and Wilson after his first training session in black and gold, and it won’t be long before he starts producing.

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