Category: Pittsburgh Steelers

Examining all of the issues surrounding the trade decision

There’s been much written about the rumors of the Steelers acquiring WR Brandon Aiyuk via trade. The discussion of such a potential move, whether it is Aiyuk or some other option, revolves around a few basic arguments. I will try to address those arguments from a pro-trade perspective.

Issue: Arthur Smith’s offense doesn’t throw enough passes to need two high-caliber WRs.

Response: Smith’s offenses over his five seasons as offensive coordinator and head coach have been centered on the run game without a doubt. He has never had an offense that attempted more passes than the league average. This past season, Atlanta averaged 31.2 attempts per game while 35.6 would have ranked No.10 league-wide. That’s only 4.4 less attempts per game from being one of the more “pass-happy” teams in the NFL. Those averages vary by game situation. In the three games that the Falcons won by two scores (9 or more points), they attempted 24.0 compared to 32.7 in the 14 other games. Now, if you can convince me that the Steelers will have a ridiculous amount of two-score victories, I’ll concede that a solid WR duo isn’t that necessary.

In the non-two-score games, Smith’s offenses vary their amount of passing based on the caliber of QB. When there was no reason to trust the guys throwing, they were asked to throw less.

33.7 (2021) attempts per game for Matt Ryan who has a league MVP to his credit.

32.7 (2023) for the combo of second-year Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke who was coming off of 25 starts over the previous two seasons.

32.6 (2020) for Ryan Tannehill, a starter for a decade.

32.0 (2019) when Tannehill took over mid-season after Marcus Mariota was benched.

24.7 (2022) for Mariota who hadn’t thrown a pass in two years and rookie Ridder off of the bench.

Issue: With Smith’s use of multi-TE sets, Pat Freiermuth can act as a slot WR.

Response: Freiermuth is known for his receiving much more than the ability to block as an inline TE. Splitting him away from the OL is an effective way of utilizing his skills. Having a power-running game with George Pickens out wide and Freiermuth in the slot is something I expect to see a lot this season. It’s all fine and dandy until you are trailing late in a game and have to throw. Then the defense only has to worry about Pickens. Freiermuth, and either the potential of a rookie or one of the other current Steeler WRs who might not even be good enough to make the final 53-man roster. Good luck getting chunk plays. I would kindly describe that scenario as “less than ideal”.

Issue: The Steelers are so good at drafting WRs that they don’t need to trade for one.

Response: The most recent Steeler WR draft picks were Pickens, Calvin Austin, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and James Washington. Pickens and Johnson are very good, but the other 3 combined for 25 catches in 2023 and only Claypool’s 46 catches in 2022. A 40 percent draft hit rate at the position is not what the Steelers should rely on. You could travel back in time about a decade and see the WR draft glory days, but that doesn’t help in 2024.

The NFL as a whole doesn’t do any better. In 2019 N’Keal Harry was drafted ahead of Deebo Samuel and AJ Brown then Andy Isabella and JJ Arcega-Whiteside ahead of DK Metcalf, Diontae Johnson, and Terry McLaurin. In 2020 it was Henry Ruggs and Jalen Reagor ahead of Justin Jefferson, Aiyuk, and Tee Higgins. Picking the right receiver just isn’t that easy.

Issue: Pickens is so talented and the run game is so strong that any decent WR will flourish.

Response: To date, Pickens has shown he can do remarkable things sometimes when he is NOT the main focus of the defense. Though they are very different players, it feels like a JuJu Smith-Schuster sequel at this point. Pickens hasn’t had to carry the burden of being the top target in the passing game. Asking him to do the heavy lifting could very well backfire if he is constantly covered by double-teams as safeties have nobody else to fear.

Issue: The Steelers don’t pay big money to WRs. They believe in drafting them to be able to use their money elsewhere.

Response: The Steelers paid Antonio Brown big money after first offering that money to Mike Wallace. Then the Steelers paid Brown bigger money on his next contract. Diontae Johnson was given a second contract at a high price. At some point, the Steelers will have to either pay market pricing for offensive playmakers again or master the art of trying to win games without scoring many points. Future cap space is wide open to taking on a huge contract.

Issue: The Steelers believe in their culture and prefer to pay top dollar only for their own drafted players, not those from some other franchise.

Response: In the past three off-seasons, the Steelers have signed some of the top available outside free agents at their positions in James Daniels, Isaac Seumalo, and Patrick Queen. These are not your father’s Steelers anymore.

Issue: The draft pick expense of any potential trade is just too high to even consider.

Response: The rumored asking price for Aiyuk may sound high, but look at what other WR trades have been done for and consider that he is not the only option. Stefon Diggs has been a 1,000-yard WR for six years straight with four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro season. He is 30 but has no injury concerns. Diggs was traded for the value of a late 3rd-round pick. Keenan Allen has six 1,000-yard seasons on the back of his trading card as well and is coming off a season where he posted 108 catches, 1243 yards, and 7 TDs. At 31 with a recent history of missing around 3 games per season, Allen was traded for pick No.110 this year. How these relate to a much younger Aiyuk is unclear but other trade candidates are being tossed into the rumor mill. If you believe there could be fire when you see smoke, Courtland Sutton has joined Tee Higgins as a possibility. Higgins going within the division is highly unlikely, but his trade request reflects that league-wide WR supply isn’t limited to Aiyuk. There should also be a few teams willing to part with a veteran on draft day if they land their desired rookie.

Issue: The Steelers aren’t just a WR away.

Response: The Steelers are definitely a WR away— away from being able to evaluate their QBs. With no QB under contract for 2025, this is a season where the Steelers need to evaluate whether or not to extend Russell Wilson and/or Justin Fields. Putting a QB out there with an incomplete WR corps, or gambling on a rookie, risks adding questions instead of answers for what to do going forward with the most important position in sports.

Issue: The Steelers have other top needs and can’t afford to lose top draft picks in a trade.

Response: Trading for an established WR definitively fills one hole on the roster. Drafting one might, but might not. There is also the possibility of trading away a high pick but getting back a still-valuable lower pick with a WR. Depending on how high the Steelers want to aim, perhaps it’s trading away the 1st rounder and getting back a 2nd, or trading away the 2nd rounder and getting back a 3rd. In such a case they have filled one hole and haven’t lost any of the quantity of valuable picks they began with. They could still address the same number of needs as they could without making a trade, just at a lower (but still high) draft position. It’s almost like killing two birds with one stone in a year where they have a lot of birds to kill.

Despite adding big names at quarterback like Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the Steelers’ passing attack this year will still depend on their wide receiving corps. After trading away Diontae Johnson and watching Allen Robinson depart in free agency, Pittsburgh has been on a search for another veteran receiver to pair with budding star George Pickens, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

It’s not like the Steelers haven’t addressed the position since Johnson and Robinson’s departures. The team has added experienced receivers like Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins, but despite strong sophomore campaigns from both players, neither has shown the ability to be a consistent, reliable supporting wide receiver. Perhaps Pittsburgh plans to return Cordarrelle Patterson to his wide receiver roots, but more likely, the team will continue looking to add an experienced veteran.

We’ve seen the Steelers kick the tires on plenty of such free agents so far this offseason. They brought in division-rival Tyler Boyd, who played at nearby Pitt in college, but are reportedly out of the running after making a disappointing offer. The team also brought in former Chargers veteran Mike Williams, who could’ve worked well alongside Pickens after spending years as WR2 behind Keenan Allen, but Williams ultimately landed with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.

Now, Dulac reports that we can add Brandon Aiyuk to that list of veteran wideouts that have piqued the Steelers’ interest. Aiyuk is not a free agent, so this isn’t a situation in which Pittsburgh can host the 49ers receiver and evaluate him in person. Also, despite the two sides being far apart in extension negotiations, Aiyuk has not delivered a trade request to the 49ers. In fact, San Francisco is reportedly actively rebuffing trade inquiries from outside parties.

As much as the Steelers would like to lure Aiyuk to Pittsburgh, there’s only so much they can do without the 49ers deciding to relent and participate. Until then, Pittsburgh will have to continue taking swings elsewhere. Boyd remains available. As do free agents Hunter Renfrow, Odell Beckham Jr., Michael Gallup, and Michael Thomas. Several veteran names are sitting in free agency. The Steelers just need to determine if any are the right fit for their new-look offense.

The Steelers have been active on both sides of the ball in free agency, but a few notable vacancies remain on their roster ahead of the draft. That includes the offensive line, a unit which could see multiple rookie additions later this month.

Mark Kaboly of The Athletic notes Pittsburgh is interested in drafting a center and offensive tackle, which comes as no surprise given the team’s current setup along the O-line. The decision to release Mason Cole left the Steelers without an experienced option in the middle, and as such the team has frequently been linked to a center being selected in the first two rounds. The same holds true at the right tackle spot, particularly on Day 1.

“I can’t tell you the player, but I can tell you it’ll be an offensive lineman,” a Pittsburgh source informed ESPN’s Matt Miller regarding the team’s first-round pick (No. 20). A number of options will be available amongst blockers at all positions at that point, even with a number of the top tackles likely to come off the board before the Steelers are on the clock.

Graham Barton (whose stock is on the rise) has positional flexibility based on his usage at Duke, but he is expected to play at center in the NFL. He, along with the likes of Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier could be in play for Pittsburgh. The right tackle spot, meanwhile, currently belongs to 2022 first-rounder Broderick Jones. The Georgia product could move to his more natural spot on the blindside with the addition of a new RT prospect.

Miller names Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma) and Amarius Mims (Georgia) as options who could still be on the board when the Steelers are due to pick. Both players have drawn praise for their athletic upside, although limited playing time in the latter’s case in particular could be a cause for concern – something which was also the case for Jones last year. Mims’ injury history is also seen as a red flag.

The Steelers are viewed around the league as being content to wait until Day 2 to select a receiver, Miller adds. Pittsburgh has generated a reputation for finding valuable players at the WR spot beyond the first round, and continuing along that path could pave the way to a high-profile addition up front. It will be interesting to see if general manager Omar Khan follows through with the internal expectation an offensive lineman will be the team’s first addition.

Matthew Wright is set to begin another stint with the Steelers. The journeyman kicker signed with Pittsburgh on Wednesday, per a team announcement.

Wright originally joined the Steelers as a UDFA in 2019. It was one year later that he made his regular season debut, one which came after a brief spell in the XFL. The Central Florida product played in three games in 2020, making each of his kicks.

That led him to the Jaguars, the team with which he spent the 2021 campaign. Wright played 14 games with Jacksonville, but he found himself on the move once again in 2022. After beginning that season with Kansas City (and appearing in a pair of games), Wright was signed off the Chiefs’ practice squad to return to Pittsburgh. Filling in for an injured Chris Boswell, a the 28-year-old connected on 12 of 14 field goal attempts and went seven-for-seven on extra points.

This past season, Wright continued to bounce around the NFL, finding himself on the active roster and practice squads of the Chiefs, Panthers, 49ers, Falcons and Patriots. His lone regular season action came with Carolina. For his career (24 games), Wright has a field goal accuracy of 85.1%. He has made all but two of his 37 extra point attempts.

Pittsburgh still has Boswell on the books for the next three years, and the 33-year-old posted a field goal accuracy rate above 90% for the sixth time in his career last season. The reunion with Wright is therefore simply a depth addition which will give the Steelers another option at the position during training camp.