It’s been a month since the Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in a rather stunning move, acquiring veteran cornerback Donte Jackson in the process.
In that move, the Steelers seemingly addressed one area of need with the acquisition of Jackson at the cornerback position. But in the process, the Steelers opened up a massive hole at wide receiver — one that hasn’t been filled just yet. Depth is fine following the additions of Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins this offseason in free agency, but there is no true running mate for George Pickens, leaving the position a major concern.
But thanks to a report on Wednesday from NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, the Steelers and GM Omar Khan are trying to get a trade done before or during the NFL Draft at the wide receiver position.
That report from La Canfora was certainly eye-opening. It’s just another case of Khan and the Steelers seemingly being as aggressive as possible, chasing the opportunity to potentially compete for a Super Bowl trophy right away. It remains to be seen if Khan can pull off a trade to address the wide receiver position, but if he is going to do it, it can’t be for a mid-level veteran just to try and patchwork the hole.
No, if the Steelers are truly trying to get something done via trade at the wide receiver position, Khan has to swing big. Go big, or go home.
Period.
That means going after the likes of Brandon Aiyuk in San Francisco, Courtland Sutton in Denver, or — and hear me out here — A.J. Brown in Philadelphia. It doesn’t mean flipping a mid-round pick to Houston for one of the depth receivers they have in abundance now in John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson or Noah Brown. No, Khan has to be bold and swing for the fences.
That’s the only way to do it.
The Steelers have been connected to Aiyuk for quite a while this offseason. From Aiyuk tweeting at Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin about being twins and wanting to see it, to now Aiyuk sparking trade speculation once again after unfollowing the 49ers on Instagram Friday, the Steelers have seemingly been in the picture — at least from a speculation standpoint.
Nothing has been reported concretely that the Steelers are in on Aiyuk, but it would certainly make sense with the need, his age, and his style of play that would be perfect opposite Pickens as a great route runner and a physical blocker.
Of course, the Steelers would have to work some magic within the salary cap to free up space for Aiyuk and his new deal, which they’d presumably work out with him were they to trade for him. But being able to land a bonafide No. 1 receiver like Aiyuk at just 27 years old for presumably draft capital would be one way to fill the need quickly and efficiently, trading away unknown value in draft picks for a known high commodity in Aiyuk.
Then, obviously, there is the Courtland Sutton angle in Denver. Though the Broncos have already traded away Jerry Jeudy this offseason to the Cleveland Browns, so they might not be keen on trading away yet another receiver as head coach Sean Payton reshapes the roster and needs to find an answer at quarterback. But Payton is a loose cannon, and no true player on that offense feels like a lock to be there.
A Sutton move would reunite Russell Wilson with his favorite receiver from Denver, one he threw ten touchdowns to last season before being benched. Sutton is that big, physical receiver who wins downfield and really had great chemistry with Wilson the last two seasons when he was healthy. He would also serve as a solid blocking option on the perimeter for the Steelers at wide receiver.
That move seems less likely than the Aiyuk one, though, even though it would likely cost less from a trade capital standpoint.
The one move, though, that would truly be swinging for the fences, move the needle, and send shockwaves through the NFL would be a potential move for Brown in Philadelphia.
Now, there has been no reported movement from a potential Brown trade standpoint, so this is just reading the tea leaves and trying to dot connect just a bit, but stay with me here.
Brown wasn’t all that happy in Philadelphia last season, and things never quite seemed to be resolved there. The Eagles fell off a cliff offensively late last season, and Brown wasn’t as involved as he wanted to be. He had two games with one reception each from Week 10 to the end of the season, cracked more than 80 receiving yards just three times down the stretch, and missed the playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brown said after the season that he wants to be in Philadelphia, but there are plenty of examples of players stating they want to be somewhere and then being moved via trade across all the major sports.
Entering the 2024 season, the Eagles paid big money to running back Saquon Barkley and then handed out massive extensions to offensive linemen Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson. They are again leaning heavily into the running game, especially with quarterback Jalen Hurts. But they also have to pay wide receiver DeVonta Smith, too, and he’ll likely get $25 million or more a year.
That could make Brown expendable.
A move for Brown would be costly — probably No. 51 overall at minimum — from the Steelers’ perspective. But it would reunite Brown with Arthur Smith, under whom he had two 1,000-yard seasons in Tennessee, and it would give the Steelers another big, physical presence on the outside to try and bully teams.
Brown is exactly the type of receiver Smith wants, having learned what he looks for in a receiver from Alex Kozora’s Big Book of Arthur Smith from earlier in the offseason here at Steelers Depot. He’d carry a large contract with him, having signed a four-year, $100 million extension ahead of the 2022 season after the Eagles traded for him.
But in an offseason in which Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl have been very aggressive and have bucked some of the trends from the past, if the Steelers are really trying to get something done via trade, they have to go big or go home on the trade market at the position, period.
It’s hooking the big fish and making the biggest splash versus just seeing what receivers are available on Day Two of the 2024 NFL Draft, pick the best one available, save some money from a cost-control perspective, and go from there.
It’s been a crazy offseason to date for the Steelers, one that we’ve never seen before from the Steelers, especially in free agency. But with Khan in control of building the roster, nothing can be ruled out. Maybe Khan and company have another magical act up their sleeves at wide receiver before all is said and done.
