Ward4HOF Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 4 minutes ago, AFF said: Why are we talking like a guy who just turned 26 a week ago is old? Well, he's 4.5 to 5.5 years older than a lot of guys we could have in the draft. To me, that's 4-5 potential seasons at a much lower cost. Not only do we give up a 1st Rd pick, but then we want to pay him $20+M/yr?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ward4HOF Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Is Lowry good enough to potentially let Larry O go?? And looks like our #3 QB is TCO'd, so we won't need to waste a late pick on one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 1 hour ago, warfelg said: I wish I had the snap counts at my disposal but I’m pretty sure he took a majority of DJs snaps while he was on the IR this past year. https://www.footballguys.com/stats/snap-counts/teams?team=PIT&year=2023 pretty much did. Pretty much all theyve done is send him on fly routes and use him on some jet sweeps, for a team that was no threat of going deep due to both playcalling and poor QB play. Again, Im not saying Austin is good....at all. I just think they need to try to use him in different ways. Also important to remember that last year was essentially Austin's rookie year. This is a make or break year for him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigben07MVP Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 20 minutes ago, 43M said: Pretty much all theyve done is send him on fly routes and use him on some jet sweeps, for a team that was no threat of going deep due to both playcalling and poor QB play. Again, Im not saying Austin is good....at all. I just think they need to try to use him in different ways. Also important to remember that last year was essentially Austin's rookie year. This is a make or break year for him. He didn’t look fully recovered from his injury to me last year. At least I hope that was the case because his routes, cuts, and start/stop ability was horrendous. Didn’t look anything like his college tape. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 50 minutes ago, bigben07MVP said: He didn’t look fully recovered from his injury to me last year. At least I hope that was the case because his routes, cuts, and start/stop ability was horrendous. Didn’t look anything like his college tape. Good point. In the end, I just want to see what he really has to offer. Be creative getting the ball to him with his speed. He will either sink or swim. If he cant make any noise in this group, he probably shouldn't be in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFF Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 4 hours ago, Ward4HOF said: Well, he's 4.5 to 5.5 years older than a lot of guys we could have in the draft. To me, that's 4-5 potential seasons at a much lower cost. Not only do we give up a 1st Rd pick, but then we want to pay him $20+M/yr?? Im not concerned about $$$ going forward. Im more concerned about giving the incoming QB(Fields or 2025 trade up for QB) everything around him. Im not saying im pounding the table for it…im saying I would understand if they did a 1st and for a 2nd i would genuinely like the move. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ward4HOF Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 10 hours ago, AFF said: Im not saying im pounding the table for it…im saying I would understand if they did a 1st and for a 2nd i would genuinely like the move. Yeah...I'm not saying that I wouldn't understand the move. I'm simply saying, I'd prefer they not trade for a starting WR, regardless. I understand wanting a WR for our incoming QB(s)/potential QBOTF; I'm just not sure springing for a high-$ WR is the correct answer, considering, our dire need for an OC, and to upgrade our current OT situation... I just think the smarter play is to draft a WR. We now have Pickens, and two veteran signed WRs #3/#4, that we can pair with a Rookie WR, and with the potential of CAIII, we should be in decent shape this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warfelg Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 https://x.com/steelersdepot/status/1772595678075834478?s=46&t=xd5QJpZuXv2k7qD0xqd6aA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
August4th Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Austin value might of just gone up with the new kickoff rule 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 19 hours ago, Ward4HOF said: Well, he's 4.5 to 5.5 years older than a lot of guys we could have in the draft. To me, that's 4-5 potential seasons at a much lower cost. Not only do we give up a 1st Rd pick, but then we want to pay him $20+M/yr?? Except...ya know...he is a completely proven talent that fits exactly what we need at WR and will make an IMMEDIATE impact. Pretty glaring little detail to that needs to be mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warfelg Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 https://x.com/chadgraff/status/1772604331486859739?s=46&t=xd5QJpZuXv2k7qD0xqd6aA Hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ward4HOF Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 7 minutes ago, 43M said: Except...ya know...he is a completely proven talent that fits exactly what we need at WR and will make an IMMEDIATE impact. Pretty glaring little detail to that needs to be mentioned. I never said he wouldn't be an asset. Heck, Kirk Cousins would've been an asset, but how many wanted to trade for him, and pay him $30+M, so on and so forth. That's not what my concern is. So, your contention is, we are an Aiyuk away from a SB win? We trade our 1st for Aiyuk, and that's the best plan moving forward? I don't agree; not when we are staring at Moore as our LT, and no starter worthy OC on our roster, and no 1st Rd draft pick, $25M AAV added to our Cap. At this point in time, as our roster is currently constructed, I feel it would be a mistake to trade our 1st Rd pick for Brandon Aiyuk, when we could get a, what, 60%- 75% solution for a lot less, and have him under a rookie contract for the next 4-5 years? It's obvious, I am in the minority here, but if you think, for a second, I have not considered all the benefits Aiyuk would bring, and how good of a fit he would be, then you are kidding yourself, but he's not the only answer available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFF Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 @Ward4HOF Thats the rub…proven player at higher cost compared to a rookie unknown. I think the thought the Steelers just can draft these mid runs guys continously and develop them is at least somewhat off. Look at all the WR picks in the past 12-15 years…why was WR a continuous need? Partially salary cap issues but also partially development/diva/AB type issues. Again I’m not that worried about cap space…they’ll have roughly $90-$100 mill Next year as of right now. They can easily afford 2-3 big contracts…especially ones that would benefit the incoming QB of the future(or Fields). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywlker32 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 I think the biggest issue with trading a 1st for Aiyuk is that OL is a bigger need than WR. We don't NEED to draft a no.1 WR, we need to get a solid no.2, which can be done later. Solidifying OL with 1st/2nd (or more FA) is much more attractive to me. I'm not against it happening necessarily, but it's not my preferred path. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcash4 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 My questions regarding the necessity of a major investment to WR2 inside of an Arthur Smith offense aside... I would trade for Aiyuk for anything less than a first. That's just where the math changes for me personally. AJ Brown was traded for a first, but it was going into year 4. The Eagles had 2 years worth of rookie deal left before the extension hit (Cap hits of $5.6M and $8.6M the first two years in Philly and just under $13M this year -- which is year 1 of the extension). Aiyuk would roll immediately into higher cap hits. You don't get the luxury of spreading out the hit as much nor do you get him at a "value" of the rookie deal. So if it costs a first to get Aiyuk -- I would pass and take my chances at receiver on a rookie deal in round 1 or 2. Just makes more sense for me. Anything else though -- you bet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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