Welcome back to your weekly Pittsburgh Steelers mailbag. As always, we’re here for the next hour to answer whatever is on your mind.
To your questions!
mem359: Is there some sort of grade you can give for draft prospects (or FA) for how well they disguise their route running? Fans and media get caught up on 40 times, but part of what made AB so effective in his prime wasn’t blazing speed, but that he didn’t telegraph what his next move would be. A defender had to guess if AB would sprint downfieldf, curl back, or cut to the sideline, resulting in paralysis by analysis.
Alex: You’re right route running is supreme. I’ve always joked my favorite receiver is an open one. And it’s something that is part of a receiver’s evaluation. It’s at the top of the list, really.
I’m not sure if you’re just asking big-picture or for me to do something now. But if/when the Steelers add another receiver, we’ll certainly examine their route running. No question.
Brian Tollini:
Hey Alex!
How much differently do you think you would have viewed this draft had Will Howard been drafted after our Yahya Black selection (and before we selected him @185)? I don’t think I am as high on him as you are, but when we passed him up in the 5th and chose Black, I thought that was a head-scratcher at the time.
Alex: I’m not sure what you mean, Brian. You’re asking if Howard was still taken after Black but higher than No. 185? That late in a draft, my viewpoint isn’t going to change dramatically. Day Three can really separate teams but your classes are still defined by the top. Who you hit on, who you miss with.
Pittsburgh wanted to double-dip and clearly wanted to beef up the front seven after how that unit/group ended last year. That was part of their focus. Being able to pick up an extra selection and have seven picks gave them more flexibility to do that.
Howard in the fifth or sixth would’ve been dandy with me. Good value, the right prospect to develop. The exception to my “go big or go home” QB rule.
James Cowan: The Steelers are tanking, why sign Aaron Rodgers?
Alex: “Tanking” is too strong of a word to use in reaction to the Pickens deal. I certainly question it and understand the hypocrisy of playing to win now by pursuing Rodgers while dealing Pickens away at the same time. But it’s not hard to understand why Pickens was traded, a player who wasn’t coming back in 2026 and was a headache to manage.
I guess the best answer I could give is…someone’s gotta play QB this year, right? Rodgers is a one-year thing and it’s not like Pittsburgh is attached to him beyond 2025. So why not just get the best QB you can and see what happens? That’s me explaining, not excusing, what has felt pretty messy.
Dan Blocker: Hi Alex, with obvious gaps at QB and WR, my concerns are on the offensive line. With cap money available, are there options veteran options to consider? I don’t have much faith in what’s in house. Thanks!
Alex: There’s a couple but it’s not too pretty. George Fant is the best name out there. Jedrick Wills could be considered a “vet” but feels like Broderick Jones 2.0…maybe even worse.
Depth is a problem, I’m with you there. But o-line help is hard to find, especially this late in the offseason. It’s a worry and I’m curious if Pittsburgh makes more moves to address. The key will be getting this young and heavily-invested-in starting group to play well. And stay healthy. Two outstanding questions, I know.
Polapeki: Hi Alex!
I think the analysis of the trade must consider the opportunity cost of the lost compensatory pick. Is it not a “plausible near fact”, to cite Dave, that Pickens would not have been resigned, but that he would have gained the Steelers a compensatory 3rd round pick in 2027?
In this case, the Steelers gave up a year of Pickens + the compensatory pick in ’27 for a likely mid 3rd round pick in ’26. The one year of Pickens was traded to move up 15 or so spots in the third round.
I think Pickens is immature and petulant, and I won’t miss him, but that doesn’t seem like a great return?
Thanks for the great work!
Alex: I generally agree with your analysis with one caveat. That “near fact” means you can’t go out and make a big signing that would risk cancelling out the 2027 comp pick. Remember, the comp pick isn’t set in stone. It’s placed onto a balance sheet. What you lost versus what you added (for those who qualify).
So there are reasons to not let the comp pick drive you. You have to wait two years, it’s a lower pick (even if the difference isn’t much, I’m with you you have to assume the Cowboys will have a low third rounder when you consider the deal), and there’s no guarantee you actually get the return should you go out and sign someone. And Pittsburgh will probably have a healthy amount of cap space to spend next year.
They’re not paying a QB and angling to draft a rookie with Rudolph as the veteran backup on a cheap deal. It’s unlikely anyone currently on roster besides T.J. Watt will cash-in with a mega-money deal. Maybe Porter/Benton/Washington gets paid. None of those deals will reset the market. Porter’s could be the most expensive but even say, a $17 million deal with a lower first-year cap charge isn’t going to eat up a ton of space.
I think the comp formula is one angle of the deal but it’s not the dealbreaker for why Pittsburgh should’ve held on. That argument should be driven by the Steelers’ seeming approach of adding Aaron Rodgers to win now and to have an offense that can actually be explosive and potent for once, something hurt by losing Pickens. The timing of the deal is also…less than ideal, making it harder to replace him.
Wall999: hello Alex, of the free agent wide receivers available which or is there any that you would like to see the Steelers sign?
Alex: It’s slim pickins’ out there. Gabe Davis, if his knee is good, probably fits best as a vertical threat to offer a little of what Pickens would’ve provided. Amari Cooper also makes sense as a less explosive route runner, though his time in Buffalo last year was awfully quiet. Wonder how much he has left.
Danatural08:
Hi Alex,
When doing scouting for the draft, it’s easy to latch on to a couple favorites you hope the Steelers will take. Who are your top 3 guys you really liked that they didn’t pick?
Alex: That’s a good question. Once the picks are in, I generally forget about the rest and just focus on who Pittsburgh took. These probably aren’t my top 3 but to rattle off some names. Had Harmon been off the board, I wonder if the team would’ve considered Tyleik Williams. He was the best run-stopper in the draft. Maybe he wouldn’t have been the choice since they seem intent on having Benton at nose tackle but I really liked his game and thought there was enough pass rush to avoid him being just a base situation player.
Maxwell Hairston, the CB from Kentucky, is going to be a really good pro. It was fun to see him hyped up for every other pick before him who walked by his space in the green room.
In the seventh round, I would’ve preferred one of the two safeties who went right after Donte Kent. Georgia’s Dan Jackson (such a Dan Campbell selection) and Wisconsin’s Hunter Wohler. Sounds like the Colts are making Wohler a linebacker. Those would’ve been really high-floor picks to round out the draft.
Kansas RB Devin Neal is also an impressive player I wouldn’t have minded. Just a couple names off the top of my head for you.
Nick Schultz: Hey Alex,
do you see a realistic path for Will Howard to be the frontrunner for the QB job after the next draft? At this point it feels like he would need the domino’s to fall much like Big Ben’s rookie year to not be a 1st rounders backup next year.
Alex: As much as I’ve talked him up, I don’t. The plan certainly isn’t to play Howard this year. A lot of injuries will have to happen. Like you said, a situation similar to ’04 with Ben and even then, would they roll with Skylar Thompson or some other acquired vet ahead of Howard? It’s possible.
In the conversation I had with Ross McCorkle in a recent episode of the podcast, the best-case for Howard could be biding his time in 2025 and 2026 as the No. 3. Then, replacing Mason Rudolph as the No. 2 for the 2027 season after Rudolph’s two-year deal is up. That puts him one snap away from starting. That’s the most realistic path.
D.j. Reynolds: Hey Alex, if you were Khan, what would you do at WR2 now?
Alex: Probably start by evaluating the Steelers’ own talent during OTAs. See how Roman Wilson looks back on the field. If you’re not happy, then explore a possible trade. I don’t know, it’s not a great spot to be in right now. They could go sign a WR and I mentioned above my interest in Davis and possibly Cooper.
If I was Khan, I’d be asking for my refund on the Pickens’ deal but I also say that as an outsider who didn’t have to deal with all I’m sure Pickens did inside that locker room. I just watched a guy make some great football plays so my window into their view is skewed.
