Getty Potential Pittsburgh Steelers trade target Brandon Aiyuk teased big news for draft day
With just six days until the 2024 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have some big decisions to make.
One of those could be whether they want to trade their first rounder.
They’ve been brought up as a candidate to trade back in the first round.
The Steelers could also deal the pick to try and fill one of their needs.
The main trade target Steelers fans have been hoping for is San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but those rumors haven’t seemed to go anywhere yet.
Now Aiyuk has dropped a breadcrumb about something big potentially coming on draft day.
On April 19, Aiyuk shared a story (via Anthony G. Halkias II) to his Instagram account with the message, “Brother said we got 6days and it’s fireworks.”
The Steelers-Aiyuk Saga
The ongoing saga of the Steelers’ interest in Aiyuk has been one of the NFL’s more interesting stories recently.
Unfortunately, it has been very difficult to pin down what the of the saga is.
93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi reported that the Steelers were interested all the way back in March.
There was also a report from 1010XL’s Mia O’Brien that the Jaguars were actually given a price for what Aiyuk would cost them, but the talks fizzled out.
Meanwhile, the idea that Aiyuk is available has been repeatedly been rebutted.
The team’s GM said last month that Aiyuk isn’t available.
His agent has denied that Aiyuk requested a trade. Then he shot down a report that the Steelers believed were on track to land Aiyuk.
Between those denials, the receiver unfollowed the 49ers on social media, which reignited the rumors about him being traded.
There has also been a shift in expectations for the Steelers recently. The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly said on April 17 that he thinks the Steelers are going to try to get somebody cheaper at receiver.
With so much conflicting information out there, it seems like Steeler fans shouldn’t have their hopes too high about a move, but there’s no doubt that trading for Aiyuk is a move that would make sense for the team if they did it.
How He’d Fit
The Steelers’ wide receiver room has a major issue right now.
They don’t have anybody who can reliably fill the WR2 role.
George Pickens is the only receiver on the roster who posted 250 receiving yards last season and he is also the only one who had reached 400 yards in either of the last two seasons.
Landing Aiyuk would change that in a big way.
He has gone over 700 yards in ever season of his career and has been particularly impressive over the last two years.
In 2022, Aiyuk made 78 catches for 1015 yards and 8 touchdowns.
This past season, despite competing with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey for targets, Aiyuk was able to rack up 75 catches for 1342 yards and 7 TDs.
He was named a Second Team All-Pro after his impressive season.
Aiyuk would also be a good stylistic fit for the Steelers.
In an April 18 article, NFL.com’s Michelle Magdziuk wrote that Pickens would benefit from having a “technically sound” receiver playing alongside him and identified Michigan’s Roman Wilson as a fit because he is a “smooth route runner” with reliable hands.
Aiyuk perfectly fits her description of the right fit to play alongside Pickens, but has already proven he can perform at a high level in the NFL.
He would come at a steep price, but if the Steelers really want to transform their passing game then there aren’t many better options out there for them than Aiyuk.
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