With a pair of trades to amass DK Metcalf and ship George Pickens away, the Pittsburgh Steelers are proper again at sq. one by way of their WR scenario. As with final 12 months, we are able to most likely count on a major quantity of offseason rumors linking the Steelers to varied WR commerce potentialities across the league. An early candidate seems to be New Orleans Saints WR Chris Olave.
In line with one Saints beat author, it doesn’t sound like there are nice odds of New Orleans buying and selling him.
“You see a group with a great participant, you assume they stink, so that you begin procuring their record. Unhealthy groups, rebuilding groups, are often keen to commerce property. So, perhaps the Saints find yourself there,” Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Soccer wrote. “However… I additionally don’t assume it could make quite a lot of sense for New Orleans to commerce Chris Olave except it’s already clear that he’ll be leaving. However even then, except the return is loopy, why would you commerce him proper now?”
The circumstances in New Orleans are apparent. Derek Carr’s shoulder harm pressured him to retire unexpectedly and they’re left scrambling to salvage a roster that already went 5-12 final 12 months.
Alternatively, they simply employed Kellen Moore as an thrilling first-time head coach and drafted QB Tyler Shough within the second spherical – simply the third quarterback off the board. With Shough prone to play early and infrequently, Olave is a key piece to his early success. In the event that they actually like Shough and wish him to develop, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to intestine all items round him.
“I think about the Saints are keen to commerce anybody on their roster for the suitable value … and the value for Olave might be insanely excessive,” Underhill wrote. “Is a group that has been unaggressive this offseason the one which’s actually going to make a name and blow the doorways off for the vast receiver? Onerous to see it.”
The Steelers already made two vital trades on the WR place this offseason. Are they going to make it three? Simply final offseason they reportedly had a suggestion on the desk to the San Francisco 49ers for Brandon Aiyuk. By all accounts their commerce supply was robust, nevertheless it wasn’t one thing the 49ers couldn’t refuse.
Omar Khan has talked about a number of instances now how they deliberately stacked 2026 draft picks. He didn’t point out drafting a quarterback subsequent 12 months, however that could be a honest assumption to make. Even Artwork Rooney II mentioned the Steelers would search for a quarterback on this 12 months’s draft or the following. On condition that they waited till the sixth spherical to take Will Howard, it’s protected to imagine they’re eyeing subsequent 12 months’s crop of quarterbacks already.
The Saints picked up Olave’s fifth-year choice in April, conserving him underneath group management by the 2026 season. In a theoretical commerce, the Steelers would get at the least two years with Olave earlier than he hits free company. Our Dave Bryan examined the plausibility of an Olave commerce on the positioning right this moment from a wage cap and draft capital perspective. Test that out for an in-depth look.
In abstract, the Steelers must be keen to half with precious draft capital which may make it more durable to amass a first-round quarterback they like subsequent 12 months. All the things else about their offseason factors to that not being a part of the general technique.
