Understand this before I go any further… This is the season of smoke. Every single team in the National Football League is going to put out some form of misinformation in the lead up to the NFL Draft. It happens every year. To be fair however, there are items that come out that carry some truth to them so that is what makes things so difficult. As for the potential news regarding the Steelers, let’s get to it.
As for Alex Highsmith, you have an already established player on a second contract. When healthy, Highsmith has been a constant pain in the ass for opposing offenses whether its stopping the run or creating problems for passing attacks. His ability and influence on the game is without question. His nagging soft tissue injuries however do offer some concern whether you’re the Steelers or the team trading for him.
If They Trade Either One
Should they pull the trigger here on either guy, it means a couple of things in my opinion. They must feel really good about Jack Sawyer who will enter his second season with the Steelers and they must feel good about T.J. Watt. There’s no arguing that the future Hall of Famer regressed last season and he was also the unfortunate victim of a Training Room mishap that cost him five games too.
Considering the Steelers have spent very little time on EDGE rushers, trading either Highsmith or Herbig strikes me as even more unusual. This draft in particular has some talent in the top half in terms of pass rushers but the fall off is pretty dramatic. It seems an awful risk to me to put all of my eggs in the basket of Watt, Sawyer and either Herbig or Highsmith. Therefore, I think a fairly lucrative offer will have to be put forth for the Steelers to consider moving on from one of them.
With just a few days left until the Draft, the smoke is heavy and yes, it may reveal some truths in terms of actual theories coming to fruition. But we have to look deeper and not just accept what is thrown out there. I’m not saying the trading of one of these players won’t happen but I would be surprised.
