Looking back, trading for TE Nick Vannett was a mistake by Kevin Colbert. Better for this trade to fail than the other deal he made, acquiring Minkah Fitzpatrick means you’ve still done a very good job, but still, Vannett was a panic move to try and fill a hole at tight end. Now he’s in Denver and Pittsburgh gave up a 5th round pick for a rental player who played poorly while with the Steelers.
But there’s a small upshot to it. According to Over the Cap’s Nick Korte, the #1 dude you should listen to when it comes to everything compensatory formula, the mid-sized deal he received from the Broncos will help the Steelers next offseason. Here was his take.
So Watt and Vannett will cancel each other yet, opening up Tyler Matakevich to net Pittsburgh a late round compensatory pick.
What about Eric Ebron? According to Korte, that will cancel out safety Sean Davis signing with Washington.
Add all that up and it appears Pittsburgh should be in the same place they were prior to Ebron signing. Korte projects Pittsburgh to receive a 4th and two 6th round selections in 2021. He also has Artie Burns as a question mark, possibly playing into the formula in a positive way for the team, though personally, I find it unlikely to happen.
So yes, the Steelers lost out on a 5th round pick in the Vannett trade. But in a roundabout way, will net a 2021 6th round pick for him.
Beyond that, getting those extra comp picks means the team gave up little for Chris Wormley, sending next year’s 5th rounder and receiving a 2021 7th rounder back from Baltimore. Loss of that pick won’t be felt as much and I’m sure part of the team’s calculation to part with a future pick.
Playing these comp games is a chess-not-checkers move that still can’t justify the trade, it was an overpay at the time, it certainly was an overpay in hindsight, but it eases the mistakes just a bit.
The games won’t stop either. As Steelers’ fans found out last year, nothing is certain until mid-season, when teams can still release players and have them not count against the comp formula as the Eagles did with LJ Fort, causing Pittsburgh to part with Donte Moncrief.
