The Brandon Aiyuk talk seems to travel in a cycle around the Pittsburgh Steelers. While there haven’t been reports of any tangible movement in months, the topic still finds its way into the ether. The current tenor of the conversation is a plea for patience: just give it time, and perhaps they swing it. But it doesn’t feel as though passing time makes it any more likely, even to those who have reported on it.
“To me, it just seems like a longshot”, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly said on The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan regarding the possibility of the Steelers still trading for Aiyuk. “However, I would never count out Omar Khan about anything. I just wouldn’t right now. He knows that they need something. I know they love how their receivers did in that setting. He came out and said that they really loved how they performed”.
The they in discussion is the Steelers’ wide receivers, largely a hodgepodge of veteran castoffs. While George Pickens is George Pickens and Calvin Austin III is getting good reviews, the rest of the group inspires little enthusiasm. Adding Aiyuk to the mix would make a world of difference.
A 2020 first-round draft pick, Brandon Aiyuk has spent his entire career with the San Francisco 49ers. Playing in largely a run-first offense, he has caught 269 passes for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdowns in his career. He earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2023 after catching 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns.
Now set to play under the fifth-year option, Aiyuk has flirted with his potential trade market. The 49ers may have permitted him to explore trade options; reportedly, the Steelers nearly had a trade in place for either Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel during the draft that didn’t pan out.
Pairing Pickens with Aiyuk would take this offense to another level—for the 2024 season. But at some point soon, you’ll have to pick one or the other. And if you’re picking one, you’re picking Aiyuk because you don’t acquire him without a contract you can’t escape.
Still, Kaboly remains among those who believe the Steelers must add another receiver. “They are quite happy with what they have. But that doesn’t mean they’re not gonna upgrade”, he said, though it doesn’t have to be Aiyuk. “They need someone to, in my opinion, stand out”.
Is Van Jefferson going to stand out, or Quez Watkins, perhaps? What about Scotty Miller or even the aforementioned Austin? Can any of them, or even all of them combined, equal the impact of Brandon Aiyuk? I’m not about to bet on that happening.
But I’m not sure I buy this notion that the Steelers just have to wait the 49ers out. Yes, they have an abundance of wide receivers after drafting Ricky Pearsall and extending Jauan Jennings. But they want to win the Super Bowl this year, and the year after that, and the year after. And Aiyuk is a 26-year-old rising star who can transition into an even bigger role if the offense leans more on the passing game in the future. He is a guy to build around, and you don’t give that away based on the promise of a rookie.
