OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: Sneaking up onto training camp

[pistolpete11]

It would be fine in there was a plan to remedy it. Clearly There wasn't.

And at a skilled position like that when we're already hard pressed to generate offense it's a precarious position Khan elected to put us in by chasing a pipe dream. It was an unforced error.

Well...no, clearly he had A plan. Whether he put all his eggs in that basket or misread the likelihood of it happening and bailed on Plan B is a different question.

Either way, doesn't really matter. Going into the season with Van Jefferson as your WR2 is a mistake.

 

[Peat]

Tbh the possibility that Khan spent all summer chasing a guy who never actually had any interest in being in Pittsburgh is real. I don't blame him for trying but Aiyuk's actions definitely raise the possibility that he always wanted to stay in SF and everything was about leverage to get paid while doing so.

 

[xlm34]

Tbh the possibility that Khan spent all summer chasing a guy who never actually had any interest in being in Pittsburgh is real. I don't blame him for trying but Aiyuk's actions definitely raise the possibility that he always wanted to stay in SF and everything was about leverage to get paid while doing so.

Grain of salt and all that. But if this was true, then either:

A.) Khan was ok with not getting Aiyuk in which case the rest of the WR decisions make not a whole lot of sense to me

B.) Khan thought he could wait out the situation and get Aiyuk at a lower price in which case whoops.

I get people wouldn’t want to trade a second and third rounder, but that’s a no brainer price to pay for a top ten receiver that is pretty much a perfect fit for what the offense wants it’s receivers to do. All a moot point now though I suppose

 

[Ryder71]

Well...no, clearly he had A plan. Whether he put all his eggs in that basket or misread the likelihood of it happening and bailed on Plan B is a different question.

Either way, doesn't really matter. Going into the season with Van Jefferson as your WR2 is a mistake.

Right, and he had six months to shore the matter up. He seemingly tried to wait out Frisco, he shouldn't have put himself in that position. Give them a deadline so there'd be time to find a capable replacement. Khan got strung along, plain and simple.

It's not just the Aiyuk saga, it's the fact we don't have even a serviceable alternative to Johnson now. And as you alluded to VJ aint it!

 

[bigdaddyk88]

Grain of salt and all that. But if this was true, then either:

A.) Khan was ok with not getting Aiyuk in which case the rest of the WR decisions make not a whole lot of sense to me

B.) Khan thought he could wait out the situation and get Aiyuk at a lower price in which case whoops.

I get people wouldn’t want to trade a second and third rounder, but that’s a no brainer price to pay for a top ten receiver that is pretty much a perfect fit for what the offense wants it’s receivers to do. All a moot point now though I suppose

But wasn’t it reported that the 49ers were shopping our 3rd for a wr so does this mean we didn’t offer a 2nd which is weird cause Dulac said we did. A 2nd was the baseline set by Cleveland and New England

 

[Ryder71]

But wasn’t it reported that the 49ers were shopping our 3rd for a wr so does this mean we didn’t offer a 2nd which is weird cause Dulac said we did. A 2nd was the baseline set by Cleveland and New England

SF wanted to keep the 2hd for Aiyuk and turn the 3rd into Sutton. So essentially Frisco would give Aiyuk for a 2hd and Sutton.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

SF wanted to keep the 2hd for Aiyuk and turn the 3rd into Sutton. So essentially Frisco would get Aiyuk for a 2hd and Sutton.

That’s what I thought

 

[pistolpete11]

Grain of salt and all that. But if this was true, then either:

A.) Khan was ok with not getting Aiyuk in which case the rest of the WR decisions make not a whole lot of sense to me

B.) Khan thought he could wait out the situation and get Aiyuk at a lower price in which case whoops.

I get people wouldn’t want to trade a second and third rounder, but that’s a no brainer price to pay for a top ten receiver that is pretty much a perfect fit for what the offense wants it’s receivers to do. All a moot point now though I suppose

It's a 2nd+3rd+making him a top 5 paid WR. There's still an argument for it, but that's not a no-brainer IMO. Especially if you aren't really convinced you're a serious contender even with Aiyuk.

I dunno. I don't really fault Khan for sticking to his offer. I fault him for not having a better fall back option than Van Jefferson. If he would have signed Boyd or Reynolds or any of the other WR that were thrown around this summer and was looking at adding Aiyuk in addition, I'd be fine with losing out on him. It's just how bad the WR group looks now that's the problem.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

It's a 2nd+3rd+making him a top 5 paid WR. There's still an argument for it, but that's not a no-brainer IMO. Especially if you aren't really convinced you're a serious contender even with Aiyuk.

I dunno. I don't really fault Khan for sticking to his offer. I fault him for not having a better fall back option than Van Jefferson. If he would have signed Boyd or Reynolds or any of the other WR that were thrown around this summer and was looking at adding Aiyuk in addition, I'd be fine with losing out on him. It's just how bad the WR group looks now that's the problem.

But he isn’t making top 5 money really. Chase Higgins will surpass him. Cooper and Debo will match at least next summer

 

[Peat]

Grain of salt and all that. But if this was true, then either:

A.) Khan was ok with not getting Aiyuk in which case the rest of the WR decisions make not a whole lot of sense to me

B.) Khan thought he could wait out the situation and get Aiyuk at a lower price in which case whoops.

I get people wouldn’t want to trade a second and third rounder, but that’s a no brainer price to pay for a top ten receiver that is pretty much a perfect fit for what the offense wants it’s receivers to do. All a moot point now though I suppose

Agree with what you say. Even if this isn't true, I do wonder what would have happened if Khan had been more aggressive in meeting SF's price earlier.

But I do also wonder if Aiyuk would have come in that situation. Whether SF would have just gone "okay, bye Brandon, no counter offer". No way of knowing but I wonder.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think what happened with Aiyuk is just inherently the risk that comes with being a patient GM like Khan. It has worked out extremely well at other points, but this is just a case where Khan overplayed his hand a bit. This is just his GM style and sometimes you don't get the guys you want by doing that.

I'd rather have that than Jim Rutherford's "pay any price to get a player".

 

[Ryder71]

Boyd or Reynolds would have been serviceable and at least afforded us the opportunity of having an option beyond Pickens in moving the chains. That wouldn't necessarily preclude us from trying to get Aiyuk. Khan just kept passing on WR after WR. He's looks like a damn fool now as a result.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

If you wanted a boyd reynolds type Russell Gage is available right now he played under smith in Atlanta before he signed with with Tampa

 

[Ryder71]

If you wanted a boyd reynolds type Russell Gage is available right now he played under smith in Atlanta before he signed with with Tampa

I wanted someone who has a pedigree better than VJ, certainly not shooting for the moon there. It's not as if Boyd or Reynolds weren't readily available. Khan shot for the prom queen and couldn't even land the girl next store.

 

[cookthebooks]

how is it being the bearer of bad news saying if the steelers wanted to pay more than they were willing to they could’ve acquired a guy

 

[pistolpete11]

But he isn’t making top 5 money really. Chase Higgins will surpass him. Cooper and Debo will match at least next summer

So he'll be the 6th highest paid and $2,500 behind the 5th highest paid. Great point. Makes me completely rethink the point I was making.

 

[WickedWrister]

To be clear, I was against trading DJ for precisely this reason but I will defend Khan a little in that he didn't completely neglect the WR position... he spent a 3rd round pick on Roman Wilson.

I think this just means we're going to need him to step up if this offense is going to have any type of aspirations. The early injury sucks but last I checked he should be good to go week 1? Won't get a lot of snaps early but by midseason I would hope he would be pushing VJ for work. We're going to run the least amount of 3 WR sets though.

All this made me think about when Donte Moncrief was above Diontae Johnson on the depth chart for a total of like 1 week lol.

 

[WickedWrister]

Side note: I hope Penn State loses to WVU today. Let the couches burn bright

 

[bigdaddyk88]

So he'll be the 6th highest paid and $2,500 behind the 5th highest paid. Great point. Makes me completely rethink the point I was making.

Right now he is tied for 5th with saint brown and hill. Next season 2 more guys will pass him he us a top 10 wr so he pai accordingly

 

[TooManyHumans]

I can see why people are so upset about DJ being gone, what with all the huge plays he made at clutch times to help the Steelers win games.

 

[JTG]

People think the NFL is like a video game. Players have to want to sign and teams have to want to trade. If Khan traded what was necessary Ryder and the rest of the people who have their thumbs up their asses would have been complaining.

We had no corners at all. There was nothing available. We got a corner. We have two young unknown WRs and finding depth should be easy when cuts are made. No one thinks this is ideal but it was the best way forward and the return for a player who was not going to play here any longer was fine.

Any WR we get is going to be the 4th look anyway. Pickens, Muth, and the RBs. That is who will be seeing the ball. Get mad about something else

 

[JTG]

To be clear, I was against trading DJ for precisely this reason but I will defend Khan a little in that he didn't completely neglect the WR position... he spent a 3rd round pick on Roman Wilson.

I think this just means we're going to need him to step up if this offense is going to have any type of aspirations. The early injury sucks but last I checked he should be good to go week 1? Won't get a lot of snaps early but by midseason I would hope he would be pushing VJ for work. We're going to run the least amount of 3 WR sets though.

All this made me think about when Donte Moncrief was above Diontae Johnson on the depth chart for a total of like 1 week lol.

The type of wide out needed for this offense are going to be guys like Austin and Wilson opposite of Pickens and they are going to get them the ball in space If they rise to the occasion that's a totally different conversation but we are going to find out.

We are crying over a WR who did basically nothing. He went an entire f***ing year without a TD. The team will be fine.

Boyd or Reynolds would have been serviceable and at least afforded us the opportunity of having an option beyond Pickens in moving the chains. That wouldn't necessarily preclude us from trying to get Aiyuk. Khan just kept passing on WR after WR. He's looks like a damn fool now as a result.

THEYYY

DIDNTTTT

WANTTTT

TOOOO

PLAYYYY

HERRREEEE


YOU ARE DENSE.!

 

[Ryder71]

The type of wide out needed for this offense are going to be guys like Austin and Wilson opposite of Pickens and they are going to get them the ball in space If they rise to the occasion that's a totally different conversation but we are going to find out.

We are crying over a WR who did basically nothing. He went an entire f***ing year without a TD. The team will be fine.


THEYYY

DIDNTTTT

WANTTTT

TOOOO

PLAYYYY

HERRREEEE


YOU ARE DENSE.!

You, like always don't know what you're talkin bout boy! You just keep making things up as you go I guess. lol

GTFO!

 

[bigdaddyk88]

Literally Adore Jackson and Stephen Gilmore just signed. Howard is still a fa. We kept multiple cbs on the ps. To say there wasn’t cb available isn’t true

 

[WickedWrister]

The type of wide out needed for this offense are going to be guys like Austin and Wilson opposite of Pickens and they are going to get them the ball in space If they rise to the occasion that's a totally different conversation but we are going to find out.

We are crying over a WR who did basically nothing. He went an entire f***ing year without a TD. The team will be fine.

I mean I put a lot of that on #8 but I don't want to get into all that again. What DJ was objectively really good at was creating separation and getting open. Good success rates vs man, zone, press. That's why he's top 10 in targets since coming into the league and lead the team in targets 4 out of the 5 last years (only didn't in 2023 due to injury). He's not without his flaws but I wouldn't say he did basically nothing.

I will say though that it feels like it has never been easier for rookie WR's to produce early on. There was more than a dozen first year players with 500+ receiving yards last year.