Fillipponi explains why Steelers should trade for Brandon Aiyuk: ‘I’d give up a first-round pick’

The NFL offseason never stops. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk told Washington Commanders quarterback and former Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels that the Niners “don’t want me back” in a TikTok post earlier this week. Aiyuk is looking for a lucrative contract extension and trade rumors around the wide receiver have heated up.

KDKA’s Andrew Fillipponi of the Audacy Original Podcast “1st & Pod” explained why the Steelers should trade for the wide receiver given their cap space and roster construction.

“He should come to the Steelers. They have $15 million in cap space right now that they can get even more room through restructures,” Fillipponi said. “They have $78 million in cap space for 2025. They have the highest-paid defense in the NFL and the second-cheapest offense in the league behind Green Bay. Green Bay has multiple good young wide receivers; the Steelers only have one.

“They have a gulf between George Pickens and everybody else on the roster. Roman Wilson, who they drafted in the third round, I think will have a nice career but he’s nowhere close to the type of player that Aiyuk is.”

Pickens led the Steelers with 1,140 yards on 63 catches last year. With No. 2 wide receiver Diontae Johnson gone, Pittsburgh has a need at wideout.

But what should the Steelers be willing to part with for a wide receiver like Aiyuk?

“I would give up, for sure, I would give up a second and a third to get him. And you could twist my arm and talk me into a first-round pick,” Fillipponi continued. “Because really I think I would boil it down to this: if Brandon Aiyuk was in this year’s draft even with a $30 million a year cap hit and I had the 16th or 17th pick would I want a rookie player or would I want Brandon Aiyuk? And I would prefer to have the wide receiver who was second in the league in yards per catch last year and [tied for ninth] in touchdowns. And we saw him make the play against the Lions off the helmet.”

Aiyuk caught 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns last season in San Francisco. The 49ers’ offense may help out those numbers a bit, but there’s no doubt that Aiyuk has skill.

“I think he is, yes, a little bit of a creation of their offense and that’s partly why Shanahan doesn’t want to pay him close to Jefferson money, Amon-Ra St. Brown money, but yeah, even with all the wide receivers that are coming out of college now I would prefer to have him in the Steelers offense with George Pickens,” Fillipponi concluded, “and I would give up a first-round pick for him.”

There are a handful of teams in the mix for Aiyuk and the Steelers may be one of them. Aiyuk would be wearing black and gold next year if Fillipponi had his way.