Welcome to the Steelers weekly mailbag here on Behind The Steel Curtain. The trade deadline is looming and trade rumors have swirled for quite some time with Pittsburgh. Will there be a surprise name that
Pittsburgh acquires i.e. Preston Smith a year ago? Plus, could Will Howard be the future? Let’s dive in.
Q: Other than WR, what position should the Steelers target at the trade deadline? Other than WR, what position do we think the Steelers will target at the deadline?
– ThePen_IsMightierA: Secondary needs addressing. If they can grab someone like Riq Woolen from the Seahawks, that would be a home run, especially because I’m not so sure the Steelers end up extending Joey Porter. In terms of who they will target, outside of receiver, I don’t have many names in mind. If Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor is available, I’d like that move.
Q: We’ve been hearing and reading a lot of prognosticators saying the Steelers will take a QB in the 1st round next year. I guess on why they would do that without seeing what they have with Will Howard. There are plenty of franchise quarterbacks that were taken in the mid to later rounds of the draft. Why would they burn a 1st rounder without at least kicking the tires on Howard? – Just_A_Dude_Talking
A: I’m glad you asked because a lot of people have asked this same question throughout the fan base. The easy answer is that he was a sixth-round pick. He wasn’t drafted to be the future of the franchise. I’ll push back on the notion that plenty of quarterbacks have been taken in the mid-to-late rounds. If anything, there are very few of them right now. Mahomes, Allen, Lamar, Burrow, Herbert, Love, Stafford, Rodgers, Baker, Jayden, Stroud, Maye, Darnold, Jones, Lawrence – all were first-round picks. The only star quarterback not taken early is Dak Prescott, who went in the fourth round. Very few quarterbacks taken on Day Three have gone on to become good starters. For every Tom Brady, there’s a boatload of Brooks Bollinger, Jim Sorgi, Bruce Gradkowski, Dan LeFevour etc. If Howard ends up being a solid backup, that’s a win for a sixth-round pick. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t root for him if there were a situation where he does get a chance, but there isn’t a world where Pittsburgh doesn’t take a quarterback early in the 2026 draft.
Q: Do you expect the Packers to try to employ the offensive strategy that Cincinnati was so successful with against Pittsburgh; seeing as how they also have a talented receiver corps? If so, what could the Steelers do to neutralize that particular scheme? – SteelerSince73
A: I expect a lot of Josh Jacobs on early downs. Hopefully the Steelers do, as well, because the Packers almost always run the ball on first down. Green Bay is so deep in terms of talent on offense, and Jordan Love is one of my favorite guys to watch in the league because of his arm talent, so there are worries there for me in terms of the Packers cutting through the defense like butter. In terms of what they can do, they can’t be so predictable. The Bengals spammed Ja’Marr Chase slants, and for some reason, the Steelers couldn’t figure it out. Matt LaFleur is a much better coach than Zac Taylor, so I’m curious to see what the Packers’ offense will look like.
Q: What offense will show up this week? What defense will show up this week? Hope they play well on both sides of the ball. – SteelWoman
A: For the first time since Ben retired, I’m not worried about the offense. They are fifth in the NFL in EPA per play since Week 3. Aaron and Art have done a great job of making this unit legitimately awesome. Defensively, Teryl Austin has done a great job of making the defense legitimately bad. Whatever Mike Tomlin needs to do to help figure out the defense, he needs to do it because Jordan Love is a lot better than Joe Flacco.
Q: Apart from LC Greenwood, how many other HoF all-decade team players, if any, aren’t in the HoF? – Les Norton
A: 49ers running back Roger Craig is on the 1980s All-Decade Team and isn’t in the HOF, which is a crime. Joe Jacoby, Bill Fralic, Dave Butz, Carl Banks, John Anderson, Lester Hayes – all on the 1980s All-Decade Team- aren’t in the Hall of Fame. It happens, although all of those names should probably be in.
Q: How about the Jeffery Simmons rumors? – BozHog
A: Certainly don’t think the Steelers would make a trade there. They already have Heyward, Harmon, and Benton. Doubt they would acquire Simmons, but I wouldn’t rule out the Titans dealing him in general.
Q: What is the percentage of Steelers fans that lost hope after a loss to a division rival last week? And should some turn in their fan card after jumping off the ledge after week 7? – Polamolicules_Dude
A: Eh, everyone hates their team after a loss. Happens six-to-seven times every year for every team, minus the great ones that only lose four times. That’s part of being a fan.
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