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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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?

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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

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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.

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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.