Good Wednesday to you Steelers fans.
I have to admit that when I first saw yesterday that the Pittsburgh Steelers were trading for Allen Robinson I wasn’t all that pleased. Robinson really hasn’t been a receiving threat since 2020, has battled injuries and only played in one game in 2022. I’ve been advocating for a veteran presence in the wide receiver room for some time now so I should have immediately embraced this, but I didn’t. Once I saw the parameters of the trade however I immediately felt better about it. The Steelers essentially are out five million bucks and that’s it. The two teams also swapped seventh round selections which essentially cancel each other out. As I discussed yesterday, this trade has a “boom or bust” feel to it. If Robinson stays healthy and contributes with chain-moving catches, blocking and leadership then Omar Khan will have struck gold without breaking a sweat. If Robinson can’t stay available and isn’t making a difference for this team then at the very least the Steelers aren’t out all that much. What is most curious to me now is whether the Steelers still draft a wide receiver. I believe they will but that’s anyone’s guess at the moment.
Hurts Don’t It?
Congrats to Jalen Hurts on becoming the NFL’s highest paid player. His new deal comes in at $255 million with over $170 million guaranteed. On a yearly basis therefore he becomes the highest paid player. If you don’t think Hurts is worthy, do you think he cares? If you truly want to be upset then aim your rage at Baltimore (Joe Flacco) and Cleveland (Deshaun Watson). The QB market is out of control and the Eagles are just trying to keep up. Hurts is the beneficiary.
Tweet of the Day… Truly remarkable when you think about how it all unfolded.
Damar Hamlin is working out with the team today in Buffalo.
Glad to have you back, 3. 🫶 pic.twitter.com/n80HheSIaG
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 18, 2023
The Case for a QB
I’m preparing myself for the distinct possibility that the Steelers will draft a quarterback next week. The situation reminds me of when they took Landry Jones in the fourth round. Right now, the Steelers have Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky. Mason Rudolph has yet to sign anywhere but I can’t believe he’d come back to Pittsburgh. Trubisky is in the final year of his contract and doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to sign an extension. We must also consider Pickett’s concussions from last season too. Therefore, bringing in a new QB seems highly logical. The problem is that they don’t have a fifth or sixth round pick and drafting a QB in the seventh seems useless when you can sign so many after the draft (Also see Chris Oladokun from last year). This suggests the Steelers would take a QB with the 120th pick, their fourth rounder, if they take one at all. to this point, the Steelers have had two visits from QBs. Jaren Hall of BYU and Clayton Tune of Houston have both had personal visits to Pittsburgh. On the scouting trail, Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan have seen C.J. Stroud and Stetson Bennett. Of all four, Tune seems to be the one they would take. He’ll likely be there in round four but definitely not in round seven. I’m not saying I agree that they take one, but I am preparing myself for the possibility.
Prospect Profiles
We’ve started our NFL Draft Coverage here at SCB and the first of our Position Profiles is out. We’ve made the decision that rather than make extensive profiles of each player, we are doing smaller ones and grouping them by position. This allows us to easier update information as Pro Days and the Combine provide more info.
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