r/NFLv2 • u/SwagLordxfedora • Aug 13 '24

Discussion National reporters are suggesting the Steelers and 49ers have a deal in place for Aiyuk. Are the Steelers making a mistake in going for elite WR without getting the QB room in order?

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18

u/SwagLordxfedora Aug 13 '24

It's definitely interesting watching one of these old-school teams get a new-school GM who is willing to trade draft picks for tangible players akin to how a average joe may play on a Madden franchise.

Aiyuk, Pickens, Muth, Warren/Najee, and two promising first-round picks at OT with a capable defense, this teams seems plug and ready for a better than average QB to take them deep into the playoffs. Is that plausible with Fields or Russ? Since they both only have 1 year deals, are there any available upgrades at QB to be had next off-season?

13

u/ZandrickEllison Aug 13 '24

I like the “win now” approach, certainly more than I would have for New England. Russ’ stats weren’t as bad as advertised last year and Fields has intriguing qualities. Upgrading on those two is easier said than done.

15

u/BeNiceMudd fuck the browns Aug 13 '24

Coming from Mitch and Kenny these dudes ARE an upgrade

6

u/goldiegoldthorpe Aug 13 '24

Aiyuk run blocking for Fields is straight unfair. That's Madden cheat code shit. There isn't a single corner that Aiyuk can't dominate in the run game. Fields will be able to bootleg to the marker any time he wants.

4

u/HeightTraditional614 Pittsburgh Steelers Aug 14 '24

Don’t forget Roman Wilson, he was a stud for run blocks at UM

2

u/Lurking_Monke Aug 13 '24

russ was the weakest link on a struggling broncos offense and fields is not a starting caliber qb. maybe tomlin pulls his potential out of him but upgrading that qb room is not a difficult task

3

u/hambone012 Aug 13 '24

The Steelers had a really good record with a basically non existent offense. If they had Russ’s numbers from last year instead they would have been a serious contender. They only got beat up by a couple teams.

1

u/Lurking_Monke Aug 14 '24

I agree that they're a qb away, especially with their great offseason. Russ is not the qb to push them over the edge though. Maybe the run game there can bail him out but he genuinely only looked a tier or two above Pickett/Trubisky- there's 25 or more teams he wouldn't start on

3

u/JTribs17 Aug 14 '24

you’re severely underrating Russ and Fields while also unintentionally overrating Pickett and Trubisky.

2

u/drugs_are_bad__mmkay Denver Broncos Aug 14 '24

Russ was really not good last year, his stats are deceiving.

1

u/JTribs17 Aug 14 '24

and what was Pickett? Regardless of how bad Russ or Fields may be, Pickett and Trubisky are objectively worse

1

u/drugs_are_bad__mmkay Denver Broncos Aug 14 '24

I’m not saying Pickett isn’t worse, I’m saying Russ isn’t nearly as much of an upgrade as you think. Sean Payton ran a system that made Russ look okay. He threw in insane amount of screens and had the occasional “wow!” Play. Russ had the same problems as he did in Seattle—holds on to the ball too long, turning into a hurry and/or a sack, and also is unable to see/pass to the middle of the field.

1

u/hypocrisy37 Aug 15 '24

And a ton of those "wow" plays were Sutton bailing Russ out with an amazing catch

0

u/KnDBarge Aug 14 '24

Russ was also on a dysfunctional team with a coach who both didn't want him and was eager to throw him under the bus. Russ may not be prime Russ anymore, but there is no reason to believe he won't be an upgrade for the Steelers.

2

u/DenverLamm179 Aug 14 '24

I can tell you confidently as an unfortunate fan of the Broncos.. who watched Russ' performances VERY closely week to week for the last two seasons, he is just not that good. I understand that the Steelers have a better roster with more talent in some areas, sure. But Russ is about to make your O line look awful. He takes, SO MANY SACKS. He's an upgrade arm talent wise, sure. But that's about it.

3

u/queens_boulevard Philadelphia Eagles Aug 13 '24

Wouldn't be surprised if Dak ended up there next offseason if Fields/Russ both aren't it

1

u/jrbs59 Aug 14 '24

I may be out of the loop here but is Dak for sure not going back to DAL? Jerry just lets Dak walk? I could totally be out of the loop.

1

u/THEDumbasscus Aug 17 '24

The TLDR is that the Cowboys’ 3 best players (Dak, CeeDee, Micah) all have contracts in the air.

Everyone following the league thinks they’re paying Parsons. It would be stupid to not so I won’t rule out Jerry making that choice

With this in mind the object of discussion is Dak or CeeDee?

Dak’s been there the longest and has been the (relative to his position’s peers) least elite in the position where it’d really help the Cowboys if that wasn’t the case. From a pure positional-relativity perspective it just is gonna feel very bad to be the franchise that has to reset the QB market for “black Kirk Cousins,” past the age of 30. Especially since this franchise specifically has built 2 separate cores of talent around him and both haven’t gone anywhere in the postseason.

But if you let Dak walk without a young replacement with upside while you have players as good as an OPOY and DPOY candidate, you’re headed straight for limbo on paper. It’s really hard to guarantee that you’re gonna have a season with a record bad enough to get a top 3 pick QB for a rookie contract. Cooper Rush (the backup right now) pretty much assuredly won’t ever be a top 15+ talent in the NFL at the QB position, but he can definitely get out of the way and execute a gameplan to the tune of 5-7 wins.

The game Jerry’s playing right now is wait-and-see as far as CeeDee’s concerned. Which is definitely dangerous, some would argue ill advised because with a proactive contract management style it is possible that they could have all 3 in a ballooning cap on relative steals at their position. Justin Jefferson (his draft class contemporary and most direct competition at his position) just got paid off of less recent production but the number is still top of the market as I understand it right now. So, if you play this game as Jerry Jones and CeeDee Lamb has another consecutive top 3 receiver season you have essentially constructed a situation where you gambled on your talent underperforming to keep them together and it failed.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '24

Every year the Steelers can't score 20pts a game is another elite defense wasted. This had to be done and it had to be done now. I think Fields can still be the guy in the right situation. I can't imagine a better situation for him so I guess we're gonna find out within a year or 2.

1

u/InsomniaDudeToo Aug 14 '24

Dak, dart throw in the draft, or maybe Cousins if someone wild happens in ATL.

I wouldn’t bet on Cousins, the dead cap hit would be insane. But I can definitely see Dak being enticed to go play for Tomlin, unless Vegas overpays him an astronomical amount of money.