It’s something that could only happen if you fired up Madden 24, but Colin Cowherd put on his GM hat and mapped out how he’d help the Pittsburgh Steelers going forward. Let’s just say it’s a good thing Cowherd’s only control is through the airwaves, not running a team.
During his Friday episode of The Herd, Cowherd mused about a list of teams that could trade up to No. 1 for USC QB Caleb Williams, who is expected to be the top pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. As part of the discussion, Cowherd offered up the Steelers. Buckle up for this one. It’s a doozy.
“Pittsburgh. I would give up [T.J] Watt, three firsts, and [George] Pickens for Caleb Williams,” Cowherd said.
Oh my. Where to begin.
First, the obvious. None of this is going to happen. Despite Kenny Pickett’s struggles, the Steelers probably won’t be looking for another franchise quarterback in the 2024 draft. He’ll get another year to prove himself. And then trading Watt, three first rounders, and Pickens…it’s obviously all crazy.
Part of Cowherd’s thought comes from his long-standing anti-defense stance. He’s routinely criticized the Steelers for investing too much draft capital and money in the defense, resulting in a lackluster offense. He made the critique after the Steelers paid T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick and levels it against any team that pays a defensive player a penny more than the minimum.
At its most charitable, that’s not a ludicrous thought. It’s an offensive game, an offensive world, and the league has designed the rulebook to score points. But obviously, retaining the likes of Watt and Fitzpatrick help your team win, not hurt, and a great defense raises the floor of your team. Pittsburgh’s made plenty of offensive investments in recent years, spending high draft picks on RB Najee Harris, TE Pat Freiermuth, WR George Pickens, QB Kenny Pickett, and OT Broderick Jones while spending in free agency on its offensive line. It hasn’t always gone according to plan, but Pittsburgh’s poured plenty into trying to improve its offense.
Cowherd has also come down on Pickett, saying he’ll never be anything more than a good-not-great quarterback incapable of leading the Steelers to a Super Bowl.
Three games into the season, it’s not known which team will hold the top pick. Perhaps it’ll be the Chicago Bears, who seem destined to clean house after this season. Or the Denver Broncos, off to an 0-3 start after getting 70 hung on them by the Miami Dolphins. Or perhaps the Arizona Cardinals, who have one of the least talented rosters in football, though ex-Steelers QB Josh Dobbs led them to an upset victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week Three.
Whoever is in line to grab a talent like Williams isn’t trading out of the spot. It’s also worth pointing out there are other talented quarterbacks expected to be in this class like North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. Some draftniks expect this to be the deepest quarterback class in years.
Clearly, this is Cowherd spouting off as part of his show. And yes, here is the attention he ordered. But it’s Friday, it’s a relatively slow news day, and this is a spot to hit some low-hanging fruit of Cowherd’s crazy opinion. Have at it.
