The Pittsburgh Steelers need a receiver, and Omar Khan may be planning another huge deal to bring in a proven great.
Fans and media have speculated on names such as Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, who posted directly at Mike Tomlin on X, and Terry McLaurin during the last 24-36 hours.
While trading for McLaurin and/or Samuel would not cost Pittsburgh a first-round pick, it is probable that Aiyuk might, something many supporters strongly oppose.
This gets me to my point: draft picks are far too valuable.
For the Steelers, especially. Look at the last handful of years ever since Pittsburgh took T.J. Watt.
- 2018: Terrell Edmunds (No longer with team)
- 2019: Devin Bush (No longer with team)
- 2021: Najee Harris (May not get his fifth-year option picked up)
- 2022: Kenny Pickett (No longer with team)
- 2023: Broderick Jones (So far, so good)
While fans are against the Steelers trading their first-round pick, the best use of their first-round pick since 2018 was when they traded their 2020 selection for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Acquiring proven stars is never a bad idea- ask the Rams. They built a Super Bowl winning team by trading away a ton of draft picks for proven stars, and it worked.
Regarding the receiver issue, many argue that the Steelers can simply draft a receiver to be the dominant X opposite George Pickens, who will be the Y. Sure, that’s wishful thinking, and the Steelers are terrific at picking receivers, so I entirely get the reasoning. However, whatever they choose will not be as good as Brandon Aiyuk currently is. Ask the Titans how that works out. They traded A.J. Brown and picked Treylon Burks, figuring he would just take up where Brown left off. In addition, Derrick Bell of Steelers Now made a good point on X: ask the Bills if they regret surrendering a first-round choice for Stefon Diggs. Ask the Dolphins and Eagles if they regret doing the same to acquire Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown, respectively.
I do understand, however, the fans that say “Hey, draft a center or tackle in the first round.” I won’t argue with that logic, nor would i be upset if the Steelers did just that. To play devil’s advocate and stick with the argument at hand, though, I’ll say that there are still options available via free agency. Right tackle Kendall Lamm is still available, as is David Quessenberry. At center, former Rams center Brian Allen is still on the market. He dealt with injuries in 2022, and the Rams opted to go with Coleman Shelton in 2023 after a competition in camp. If the plan is to move Broderick Jones to left tackle, then signing a one-year rental at right tackle or center and using the first round pick to acquire a star receiver isn’t far fetched.
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