PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s a Steelers team that is predicted to win eight to 10 games this season by national and local experts. Former NFL general manager Doug Whaley said on the Fan Morning Show Wednesday, if you add 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk, it gets the Steelers one to two more wins.
“You have one legit guy that keeps a defensive coordinator up at night and then you have a number two in Pickens and a number two A in Freiermuth,” Whaley said of the benefit of adding Aiyuk. “Now you have three receiving options with two running options and a run-heavy offense that can go play action, that’s a good one to two games (improvement).”
The 26-year-old Aiyuk has improved every year during his first four seasons with the 49ers out of Arizona State.
· 2020—12 games, 60 receptions, 748 yards, 5 TD, 62.3% catch
· 2021—17 games, 56 receptions, 826 yards, 5 TD, 66.7% catch
· 2022—17 games, 78 receptions, 1015 yards, 8 TD, 68.4% catch
· 2023—16 games, 75 receptions, 1342 yards, 7 TD, 71.4% catch
Aiyuk wants paid, a lot, probably $30 million, plus you are going to likely give a hefty package to San Francisco in any trade. Reportedly Aiyuk and the Niners are around $4 million apart in contract talks, which doesn’t sound like a lot when you are talking about that kind of money, but Whaley, who has been in these situations, said it really is considering you would might need that money to use on other players.
Whaley also believes there is no pressure for San Francisco to trade Aiyuk and they wouldn’t be nervous if he sat out camp or even parts of the season because Whaley said they are loaded at wide receiver. SF GM John Lynch can be patient and wait for the best offer, if indeed they do trade him.
What about the impact for the Steelers of taking on a contract of that size, plus trading a first-rounder?
“The $30 million I’m good with, the first-round pick is what makes me nervous,” Whaley said on the Fan Morning Show.
“That backs you in a corner where you don’t have an out. If both these quarterbacks (Russell Wilson and Justin Fields) don’t hit, you would love to have that first pick. There may not be a first-round quarterback next year, it’s not looking like a great quarterback draft. It gives you the option to be able to use that to trade for another quarterback out there.”
“That’s where I get a little apprehensive.”
Here are the Steelers last 10 first-round picks
Watt is currently the Steelers highest paid player. He’s a Defensive Player of the Year and has a salary of $21 million and cap hit of $30 million according to ‘spotrac.com’. If he wants to continue to be the highest paid Steeler, Whaley tells the Fan Morning Show you could re-work his contract and give him a little more to satisfy that issue, if it would even be one.
“What you are trying to do is build a team to compete for a championship,” Whaley said.
Another ‘what if’ is what if third-year Steelers receiver George Pickens doesn’t want someone who could have better numbers than him?
“If Pickens is a professional, he’s going to look at it two ways,” Whaley said during his weekly segment on the Fan Morning Show. “One, it’s going to give me a chance to really eat and give me some numbers to get paid-either from the Steelers or someone else because people are going to focus on Brandon Aiyuk.”
“If it looks at it any other way, you don’t need him. He’s not the type of player you want on your team, in the locker room or that is going to be successful if he’s worried about someone else. All stud players, including wide receivers, are going to say I’m going to get mine and actually this guy is going to help me get mine.”
A second-round pick in 2022, Pickens has 115 career catches for 1,941 yards and nine touchdowns. Last year, 63 receptions (59.4 catch percentage), 1140 yards, five touchdowns and an 18.1 yards-per-catch average.
“I think he will be a splash-play player,” Whaley said on 93.7 The Fan. “I think he’ll have one game where he puts up 130 (yards) and another where he puts up 60. He’ll have another game where he puts up three touchdown and another with three drops.”
Whaley said he’s not been consistent although he’s working to improve. He wants to see Pickens run a full route tree before he believes he could be a number one receiver. Whaley said he has the ability to be like Pro Bowl receiver DK Metcalf, but currently is a one-trick pony.
It may bring internal drama, it might cost you $30 million and a first-round pick. What could one or two more wins mean to this team. That’s what the Steelers need to define in considering Brandon Aiyuk.
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