OC focused on Steelers WRs amid Brandon Aiyuk trade talks

On Tuesday, rumors surrounding a potential trade for 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk heated up once again for the Steelers.

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Pittsburgh and San Francisco have a deal on a potential trade and the Steelers are in a good place on a contract for Aiyuk. However, the 49ers have yet to give the final sign-off as they also have an offer out to Aiyuk on a long-term deal for him to stay.

It seems Pittsburgh will have to wait at least a little bit longer to see if it will land Aiyuk, so in the meantime, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is solely focused on the players currently on the roster.

"All I worry about is who I have," Smith said. "It's wasted energy. Everybody would love to have a perfect roster. That just doesn't exist. I'll coach whoever they bring in here, but it's our job and my job to more importantly worry about the guys that are here."

Right now, that includes wide receivers George Pickens, Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins and Roman Wilson, among others.

Smith is especially high on Jefferson and Miller thanks to their championship-caliber resumes.

"We've got multiple weapons," Smith added. "Both of those guys played on Super Bowl-winning teams. They've got a lot of experience. They're hungry. They've both had excellent camps."

While Jefferson is coming off arguably his worst season yet, in which he registered just 20 catches for 209 yards and zero touchdowns with the Rams (five games) and Falcons (12 games), he is still the favorite to be the Steelers' No. 2 option opposite Pickens, barring a trade of course.

The 28-year-old has since adopted former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown's regime of catching 300 balls after every practice and it showed when he reeled in a nice catch over second-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. during Monday's practice.

It's safe to say Porter Jr. has been impressed by Jefferson and his fellow wide receivers.

"I feel like the whole wide receiver room has really been impressive all camp," Porter Jr. said. "They've all been making good plays; good catches and the quarterbacks are putting it in a great spot for them to make those catches."

Only time will tell if Pittsburgh acquires Aiyuk, but if it doesn't, Jefferson and Co. will need to step up just as they have throughout training camp.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted