The Pittsburgh Steelers have a significant void to fill at wide receiver.
The team traded Dionte Johnson to the Carolina Panthers and with Russell Wilson now locked in as the team’s starting QB for 2024, it will be critical to surround him with as many weapons as possible to set the offense up for success.
While the Steelers have signed Van Jefferson and added Quez Watkins since trading away Johnson, those two wideouts combined for only 351 receiving yards during 2023.
Pittsburgh Steelers Trade Proposal Lands 49ers Star WR Brandon Aiyuk
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport named Pittsburgh one of six teams that should make an enticing trade offer to the San Francisco 49ers for wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Davenport proposed the Steelers send their 2024 first and third-round selections to the 49ers for the 2023 second-team All-Pro wideout.
“Aiyuk is a better and more proven option than anyone who will be on the board when pick No. 20 rolls around,” Davenport wrote. “He and George Pickens would be a formidable duo at the position.
“Where this hypothetical exercise is concerned at least, offering that 20th overall pick would be the best offer the 49ers have received. Throw in a late third (for a Day 3 pick in return), and it’s an offer Niners general manager John Lynch would have to give some serious consideration to.”
Aiyuk would add a dimension to the Pittsburgh Steelers that has been lacking but acquiring him wouldn’t come cheap. On top of the draft picks Pittsburgh would have to give up, the Steelers would also have to give the current 49ers star a new contract next season and he wants to be one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL.
With Pickens also up for a likely extension, it could be tough to have them both on the roster.
Can The Pittsburgh Steelers Pull Off A Trade For Brandon Aiyuk?
The Steelers would instantly get a massive boost on offense for Russell Wilson by adding Aiyuk to the crop of average wideouts after Pickens.
The deal would force them to give up key draft picks that could be used to fill other holes on a roster that needs plenty of patch work.
With Aiyuk, though, the Steelers would land one of the top receivers on the market this offseason and his style of play is the perfect compliment to Pickens on the other side.
While Brandon Aiyuk averaged 17.9 yards per reception, Pickens led the NFL with 18.1 yards per catch in 2023.
Aiyuk would transform the Steelers receiver room from one of the weakest in the NFL to perhaps one of the best. But it would come at a heavy cost.
In addition to needing a starting receiver, the Steelers don’t have a center currently on the roster. The team could also use upgrades at offensive tackle and cornerback
Ultimately a deal is possible, but the Pittsburgh Steelers brass has to weigh out whether the draft capital and money owed to wide receivers in 2024 is worth acquiring one of the top wideouts in the NFL.
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1 Comment
Why not put all the chips in on Justin Jefferson ?