Behind the Steel Curtain
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_IsMightier
A: 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...
