The NFL’s trade deadline of Oct. 31 is fast approaching, giving teams an opportunity to wheel and deal in a wide-open NFL landscape.
For a pair of NFL analysts in USA Today’s For The Win, Cory Woodroof and Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey, the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of those teams that needs to wheel and deal offensively in an effort to make some upgrades.
For Woodroof, that means calling an end to the Najee Harris era at running back, trading the former first-round pick in just his third season for a second-round draft pick, making Jaylen Warren the Steelers’ full-time starter at the position.
“This might seem a little surprising, but the Steelers might want to transition running back Jaylen Warren into that starting spot and consider sending Harris to a team that could better utilize his talents. Harris hasn’t quite been the thousand-yard rusher we’ve gotten used to this season, and it’d be very easy to see a Super Bowl-caliber team calling up the Steelers and seeing if Harris is available,” Woodroof writes regarding Harris as a piece the Steelers should trade away. “Pittsburgh could probably get a second-round pick in return, and some team would get a proven running back in Harris to help a postseason run.”
A little surprising? That’s quite an undersell from Woodroof.
The Steelers won’t be trading Najee Harris, period.
He’s a team leader, personifies the hearts and smarts that the Steelers love, and is as tough as they come at the position overall. He might not be putting up great numbers this season, but he’s been a better runner than Warren overall, though that is something Harris detractors don’t want to hear.
Getting Warren more involved offensively doesn’t mean the Steelers need to do that by trading away Harris. The two have split snaps this season and there is no sign of that changing moving forward. Though there is some merit to the Steelers not always using Harris correctly, chances of them getting a second-round pick for the former Alabama star — and from a contending team to boot — is a real stretch.
Trading Harris makes the Steelers worse in the short- and long-term. Much, much worse.
While Woodroof predicts that the Steelers trade Harris and get a good return in a second-round pick, Tansey has the Steelers acquiring disgruntled New York Jets wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr., adding an explosive weapon to the offense for quarterback Kenny Pickett and offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Hardman signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the New York Jets in the offseason as a free agent, leaving the Kansas City Chiefs. He has played just 28 snaps this season though, generating just two targets. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Jets are currently exploring options with the veteran receiver, including a trade.
That’s where Tansey sees the Steelers coming its play.
“Even if the Steelers don’t end up competing for a playoff spot, this season will be successful if they can come away with clarity at the quarterback spot. They need to find out if Kenny Pickett is worth the continued investment or if they need to make a move next season,” Tansey writes regarding a potential move for Hardman. “Part of that is giving the quarterback what he needs to succeed. Trading for Mecole Hardman would give Pickett a speedster who can stretch the field across from George Pickens.
“Diontae Johnson’s potential return in Week Seven gives him a slot specialist who can work underneath and intermediate routes.”
Hardman is certainly a speedster, having put together a number of big plays in his time in the NFL. Coming out of Georgia, Hardman clocked a 4.33 40-yard dash and has 152 career receptions for 2,094 yards and 16 touchdowns. In New York though, with Aaron Rodgers on Injured Reserve with an Achilles injury suffered just four snaps into the season, the Jets haven’t found that role for Hardman with quarterback Zach Wilson.
That could lead to a trade with the experienced offensive weapon being rather cheap from an acquisition standpoint.
He has played in plenty of big games from his time in Kansas City, can take the top off defenses and is quite a weapon after the catch, too, with his speed and elusiveness.
The Steelers seem pretty solid at receiver currently with Johnson set to make his return, Pickens emerging as a potential No. 1 receiver, veteran Allen Robinson II holding down the slot and Calvin Austin III bringing the big-play threat to the offense. Where Hardman would fit in there is unclear, but it’s certainly an intriguing prediction from Bleacher Report.
